Resident Evil: Death Island
by LeonFan2k3
Summary: Resident Evil: Death Island is now complete! I hope you've all enjoyed it!
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I do not own Resident Evil, or any of the Resident Evil characters in this story.   
However, I do own the characters of David and Annie Barrett. All Resident Evil characters contained in this story are owned by Capcom.  
  
Prologue  
  
"AAAHH!!"  
The piercing scream startled Chris Redfield out of his slumber. Instinctively, he grabbed his Glock 17, and ran toward the scream.  
Claire Redfield was terrified. She had been sleeping peacefully until her nightmare began. The same nightmare had been plaguing her for the last 2 months. It was always the same: She and Steve Burnside are together, laughing and enjoying each other's company, when he suddenly begins convulsing and mutating into a horrible beast. He then tries to kill Claire with a huge ax, but she wakes up as he is about to strike.Claire had met Steve while trying to escape a privately owned island called Rockfort Island. It had been owned by a cross-dressing maniac named Alfred Ashford, and his absent twin sister Alexia. They were the genetically created grandchildren of Edward Ashford, a co-founder of the pharmaceutical company known as Umbrella, Inc. After escaping Rockfort, Claire and Steve ended up at a secret base in Antarctica, which was also an Umbrella facility. Steve was captured by Alexia, and injected with something called the T-Veronica virus. He turned into the beast that Claire dreamed about, but stopped himself from killing her, only to be killed himself. Steve was roughly 2 years her junior, but Claire had developed feelings for him, and she hadn't been able to get over his death yet.  
  
"Claire!" Chris called to his sister as he burst through her bedroom door. Claire jumped out of bed and rushed over to her older brother and held him tightly, sobbing heavily. "Oh, Chris, it was that same nightmare again." She felt ashamed of waking him with another nightmare, but she was relieved to have him there to comfort her. The Redfields had been as close as siblings could be as kids, but they had grown even closer since the Antarctica incident. "Chris, thanks again for being here. If it weren't for you, I don't know how I would deal with this." "Hey, don't sweat it kiddo, that's what big brothers are for." The rest of the night went by without incident, but Chris sat in a chair across from his sister's bed in case she had the dream again.  
  
The next morning, during breakfast, Claire decided she had to end the Umbrella nightmare once and for all. "Chris, where did Leon, Jill, Barry, and Rebecca go." "Scotland. Umbrella has another corporate building there in Edinburgh. Why do you ask?"  
"Because I want to finish this, Chris. Umbrella needs to be stopped before more people lose friends and loved ones. And before more cities end up like Raccoon City." "I thought you'd say that, so I arranged for us to fly out and rejoin them in Scotland. They begin their strike at midnight tomorrow." "So then what're we waiting for?" They began packing for their trip. 


	2. Reunion

Chapter 1: Reunion  
  
"The self-destruct system has been activated, all personnel report to the emergency exit immediately!"  
  
The warning was deafening as it blared over the intercom system of the Umbrella building in Edinburgh.   
Jill Valentine, Barry Burton, Leon Kennedy, and Rebecca Chambers had come to Scotland to destroy another Umbrella facility. After battling through one B.O.W (Bio-organic weapon) after another, the quartet set off the self-destruct system. The job had been relatively easy, but their gunfights against the company's hired mercenaries had put them behind schedule, and they were now desperately trying to make it to the emergency exit before the big bang. At some point during the action, Jill and Leon had been separated from Barry and Rebecca. Jill and Leon were on their way out, hoping that the others had found another escape route. The Raccoon City survivors had made a verbal pact, that they would never leave each other behind, unless there was no choice. Chris and Claire had stayed out of the action this time, because Claire wasn't sure she was ready to return to action after the events in Antarctica, and Chris didn't want to be separated from his little sister again.  
  
"Leon!" Jill shouted, "move your ass!!" Leon was just about to catch up when about ten of Umbrella's men showed up on the scene. Normally, Leon liked such odds, since he was crackshot, but even so, he and Jill were low on ammo, and the mercs had thick protection from head to toe. "Five minutes until detonation..."   
"Damn!" shouted Leon, "I hate these blasted self-destruct systems." In spite of their protection, Jill and Leon were able to clear half of the mercs, but they clicked empty. "Shit!" Jill thought, "Leon, we need to take cover now!" Jill and Leon knew their time was up. They would die here, and now, but Umbrella would live on, unless they get lucky, or they received a miracle.  
  
KABOOM!!  
A large hole was blown through the outer wall of the complex, and the mercs were scattered, or rather what was left of them.   
Right then, Jill heard a beautiful voice. "Are you two coming, or do we need to carry you out?!" Chris and Claire stood there like guardian angels. Chris stood there with the smoking rocket launcher resting on his shoulder, and as far as Jill was concerned, he was the most beautiful sight she'd ever seen. Claire noticed the missing pair and spoke up, "Where are Barry and Rebecca?"  
"We were separated during the breakout," said Leon regretfully, as the building began to explode from the inside. They all looked at each other, praying that their comrades had found a way out.  
  
Barry and Rebecca woke up in a small cell next to one another, and they realized that they survived, but not only that, they were also airborne. They scanned the surroundings and realized they were in the cargo hold of a military tank transport. They heard a hatch door open, and the silhouette of a man appeared in front of the light given off by the area behind the opened door.  
"Well, well, well..." Why did that voice sound familiar? "...So nice to see you again Barry, Rebecca."  
The two captives stared in disbelief. "Wesker?!... You sonuvabitch!!" "Why Barry, is that any way to speak to an old friend?"  
"This can't be, you're dead!" "Wishful thinking on your part Becky," scoffed the ex-S.T.A.R.S captain. "Where the hell are you taking us?" Barry demanded. "You'll find out soon enough, but for now, I think I'll keep that my little secret. Until then, enjoy your ride." Wesker chuckled with evil glee as he left the cargo hold. 


	3. Arrival

Chapter 2: Arrival  
During the raid on the Scotland facilities, Leon and Jill had discovered the existence of another Umbrella-owned island hidden deep in the South Pacific. The island had been bought about thirty years ago by the Ashfords, who renamed it Ashford Island. There were other islands within a one-hundred mile radius, and in the last decade or so, the locals began calling it "Death Island." This was, of course, due to the fact that many tourists had never returned from the island.  
  
The chartered plane glided smoothly over the turquoise waters of the Pacific Ocean, en route to Ashford Island. The passengers on board were unusually quiet. One would've never guessed that they were reunited only a week ago, but they were all exhausted from all the travel they'd done in that time. Jill glanced over at Chris sitting peacefully, seemingly lost in thought.He looked toward her and she nodded toward Leon and Claire who were both sleeping, Claire's head resting comfortably on Leon's shoulder. Claire had not been having nightmares recently, and Chris felt it had more to do with Leon's presence than his own. Chris was happy for his sister because he knew that she harbored romantic feelings toward Leon, ever since their ordeal in Raccoon City. He knew his sister had feelings for Steve as well, but they weren't of a romantic nature, more like a close friend. He remembered being wary of Leon at first, not because he mistrusted the ex-RPD rookie, but because he didn't want his sister to become involved with a cop. He couldn't stand the idea of her sitting at home, and recieving news that her boyfriend or husband had been killed on duty. Claire assured him that he was just being too much of a big brother, "You know," she'd told him, "overprotective to a fault." Chris had worked with Leon briefly before reuniting with Claire, and again after Antarctica. He could see that Leon was far better at his job than the average rookie, and that eased his mind alot. He decided that Leon reminded him of himself in many ways, and was glad to have him on their side.  
  
Leon and Claire woke up as the plane began it's approach to the island. "Are we there yet?" Leon asked with a yawn. "Take a look, sleepy-head." quipped Chris. "Wow!!" exclaimed Leon, as he looked out the window at the seemingly beautiful island below. "What a tragedy," said Jill, snapping Leon out of his awe-inspired daze. "Yeah, you're right," said Leon, immediately understanding what Jill meant. "Such a damned waste!" Chris added, "Those bastards," he said, referring to Umbrella, "They destroy everything they touch."  
  
Somewhere on the island, in a monitor room of another Umbrella complex, Albert Wesker watched patiently as the small sea-plane began it's descent. He had cameras everywhere, but the one that he always kept an eye on, was the one that scanned the beach, where would-be intruders had to come ashore. He knew, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that the passengers were the RPD elite. He was a patient man, and he knew, eventually, he would come face-to-face with Redfield and friends. He thought of it as a 'rendezvous with fate,' and as he watched the plane continue it's approach, he looked in another monitor to see his bait, Barry Burton and Rebecca Chambers, sitting in their musty, dungeon-like cell. Wesker thought with a smile: "Oh little fishy, come see my hook." 


	4. New Friends, Old Enemies

Chapter 3: New Friends, Old Enemies  
  
Barry and Rebecca sat in the cold dungeon cell wondering what was going to happen to them, and how the hell Wesker was still alive. "Barry, I'm scared." "Don't worry Becky, Leon and Jill will find us. After all, they have the file that mentions this place, and if I know our friends, they'll make this their next stop. And you never know, they might even bring Chris and Claire with them." "I can't wait to get my hands on Captain Wesker." "Same here. And this time, we'll make sure that bastard stays dead. I'll never forgive myself for my betrayal at Spencer's, and I'll never forgive that sonuvabitch for threatening my family."  
"I guess I'm supposed to be scared now eh, Burton?" The two captives hadn't realized that Wesker had entered the room and overheard part of their conversation. "How brave we've become. I guess you didn't tell Rebecca how quickly you cowered when I threatened to separate you and your family, permanently." Wesker seemed amused and continued taunting the prisoners, "I couldn't believe how quickly he buckled. He could've broken me in half, but instead he just let me control him. It really was priceless, knowing I had one of the most reliable S.T.A.R.S members in the palm of my hand. Go ahead big man, tell her about your forced betrayal, and about the truth behind Bravo Team's forced landing." "Barry? What does he mean?" Asked Rebecca, afraid of the answer. "Aw, you mean you haven't figured it out yet, after all these months? I thought you were a borderline genius, Miss Chambers." "What is he talking about Barry?" "I..." Barry hesitated, "I planted a bomb in the engine of your team's chopper. When Wesker radioed me with the order, I detonated it." "Oh Barry, you didn't." Rebecca couldn't believe it, she was shocked and hurt, but she was trying to understand Barry's position, and realized he didn't really have a choice. With a wife and two young daughter's at the mercy of a madman, Barry did what he had to in order to protect them. "YOU BASTARD!!" Barry screamed as he took a swing at Wesker through the bars of the cell. Wesker dodged the blow and laughed. "What're you going to do to us?" Rebecca asked. "That's a surprise, and I have another little surprise prepared for you Rebecca, but you'll just have to be patient. All will be revealed, in due time. Right now, I have some other matters to attend to, so in the meantime, enjoy your stay."  
  
"Is that everything?" asked Chris. Jill replied, "Yeah. Tell the pilot to take off, and to maintain radio silence until we contact him to come pick us up." "Look at this place," said Claire. "I can't believe Umbrella used this place for their experiments for nearly thirty years." "Hey, maybe after we clean up this mess, we can come back for a vacation." Leon joked. "No thanks," said Claire, "I've had enough island adventures for one lifetime." Everyone knew she was partially referring to Rockfort Island, but they chuckled anyway, glad that Claire was trying to joke about her ordeal.  
  
Unbeknownst to the visitors, they were being watched from behind some barrels that were just a little further up the beach. "Who are they?" A small voice asked in a near-whisper. Another, deeper voice responded, "I don't know, but judging from all that stuff, they probably work for Umbrella." They turned around and started back toward the jungle, but the smaller of the two accidently knocked a wrench off the barrels. "Run!" said the larger of the two.  
  
Chris was the one who heard it. "Hey, who's there!?" The others turned and saw the bushes shaking, and they quickly joined Chris and went to investigate. They must have gone about fifty yards when they heard a high pitched scream pierce the quiet air. They ran another twenty yards or so, when they saw about a dozen of the undead terrorizing what looked like two kids.   
Blam! Blam! Blam! Leon's prized Desert Eagle magnum went off, and three of the rotting creatures' heads were disintegrated by the impact of the powerful rounds. Claire quickly dispatched three more as did Jill. The last three were disposed of by three well-placed shots to their temples by Chris. The foursome approached the would-be victims and realized that they were kids. A small girl, about twelve-years-old, with blond hair was holding onto an older boy, about sixteen years of age. It was obvious to all that they were siblings. "Thanks," said the boy. Claire approached them and asked for their names. "I'm David Barrett, and this is my sister, Annie." "Hi, I'm Claire Redfield, this is my older brother Chris, and those two over there are Leon Kennedy and Jill Valentine."  
Annie took the foursome by surprise with her question, "Do you work for Umbrella?" "No, in fact we came to stop them." Answered Jill. "What do you know of Umbrella?" Asked Chris, and if Annie's question was unexpected, David's next statement was downright shocking, "They...they KILLED OUR PARENTS!!" 


	5. Surprises

Much thanks to Pyromaniac 55, Santiago, and Mr. Trent for their reviews. I'm glad you're enjoying the story so far. There will be some chapters that are longer than others, because I actually started this on a RE fan site, and some of the chapters are divided into 2 parts. On here, I plan to combine both parts of those chapters. Once again, THANKS!  
  
Chapter 4: Surprises  
  
Chris and the others couldn't believe what they had just heard. "More childrens' innocence lost because of Umbrella," thought Claire.  
Claire began to remember the look in Sherry Birkin's eyes when she found out the truth about her parents. When she found out about their experiments with the G-virus, and about what happened to her father -about what he had become- she was visibly upset, but she didn't seem surprised. Claire had gotten the impression that Sherry expected it. "No child should expect their parents to die," she thought out loud, not realizing the others had heard her last statement. "Claire?" said Leon, as if he knew she was upset. "I was thinking about Sherry, and about what happened to her parents." "Who's Sherry?" Annie asked innocently. "She was this girl we met in Raccoon City, she was about your age." "What happened to her?" asked David. Leon could tell Claire was upset just thinking about it, so he continued for her. "Her parents worked for Umbrella. They were researching something called the G-virus, but Umbrella wanted to take credit for it. William and Annette -Sherry's parents- decided to leave the company. They went into hiding, but Umbrella mercenaries tracked them down. They shot Sherry's father, and stole the virus samples. Before he died, William injected himself with the G-virus, and he mutated into a horrible, nearly-unstoppable creature. Claire and I had to destroy him, but he killed Annette, because in creature form, he didn't recognize her as his wife."  
  
After Leon finished the story, Chris asked David and Annie, "What happened to your parents, and how did they get involved with Umbrella?" David answered, "Our parents worked for Umbrella. They brought my sister and me to this island for a so-called vacation.They kept leaving us at the beach, or at the hotel so they could go to work. One day, we decided to follow them. They went to a building located on the outer edge of the island. We discovered that they were helping Umbrella develop another viral strain. We heard they were injecting it into primates, felines, and canines. We ended up getting caught, and Umbrella was going to use us for their guinea pigs. Our parents rescued us, and we all escaped, but..." Annie was starting to cry a little, and David started to choke-up a little. "...but their soldiers caught up to us on a bridge spanning a river about thirty feet below. My father told me to grab Annie and jump. We did, but as we were swept downstream, we heard the sound of guns going off, followed by our parent's screams. We've been hiding in a hidden cavern ever since." "Those scumbags!" Leon's sentiment was shared by the others.  
  
"Hello lieutenant." Wesker was speaking to a prisoner, who was being held on the other side of the complex from Barry and Rebecca. "How are you doing this evening?" The prisoner glared at Wesker, and responded sarcastically, "Just peachy. What are you going to do with me?" he demanded. "You and a couple old friends of mine will be my new test subjects." "For what?" asked the prisoner. "Well, you see," explained Wesker, "I have created the ultimate Hunter-class BOWs, and I'm anxious to test their skills. So I have arranged a little experiment." "And myself and these others you mentioned are the guinea pigs." "As a matter of fact, you are." Wesker replied. The prisoner asked, "Who are the others?" "Well, let's just say you'll see in due time. But I'll give you a couple of clues, since I'm feeling generous." As he began to walk toward the exit, he told the prisoner, "You know one of them." As he walked out, he tossed a small chain into the cell. The young man picked it up, and noticed the dogtags. The inscription on them read: Lt. Billy Coen, United States Marine Corps. 


	6. More Surprises

Chapter 5: More Surprises  
  
The kids took the adults to their hideout. It was very well hidden among the twisting branches and foliage of the jungle. They could see that the kids were very resourceful. After they entered the cavern, David led them to a small underground stream. "David, you mentioned a hotel on this island, and that you were brought under the impression that it was a vacation?" Chris asked. "Yeah, why?" "Well, do you think you could find your way back to this place?" "Maybe, I haven't been there for at least two weeks." Claire interrupted, "Two weeks? How long have the two of you been on your own?" "About two months. I used to make routine trips to the hotel to stock up on food and water and stuff. But after a while, the place became more and more infested, and without any weapons, it was too hard to get in and out alive." "About how far from here would you say the hotel is?" Asked Leon. "About ten or fifteen miles, but we have to get across the bridge to the other side of the river." "That shouldn't be too hard." Jill said. "The problem is, now Umbrella soldiers patrol the bridge every so often, I guess to get rid of would-be trespassers, and probably to keep an eye out for my sister and me." "Well, we could always find a place to wade across." "That's not a bad idea, but there's another problem..." "What's that?" asked Claire. "The river is pretty deep, and pretty swift in some spots, and well Annie..." David hesitated, "Annie, what?" asked Chris. "Annie can't swim." The group turned to see Annie behind them. She had heard part of the conversation and she answered the adults for David, who was trying not to expose her secret. Everyone except David seemed surprised, and Annie wondered why people were always so shocked to hear that she didn't know how to swim. Annie began to explain, "When I was about five, I fell into a pool, and drowned, but I was brought back by my father,who knew CPR. Since then, I've been afraid of the water." "Wait a minute," Chris started, "didn't you and David have to swim to shore after jumping off the bridge?" "Luckily for me, David is a junior lifeguard back home, so he knew how to get me to shore safely." "Wow David," said Claire, "You're rather good at this survival stuff. Were you in the scouts or something?" "No, my father used to take me on "survival" trips on weekends. He was really good, which shocked people, because he was a scientist who specialized in virology and geneology." "Well why didn't your sister come with you on these trips?" "Actually I did, I just wouldn't go if they were rafting, or doing anything else involving water." "Yeah, Annie's real good at finding edible plants, and knows a couple of things about first aid." "Well," Claire said, "that's more than I knew at your age. Chris was the trained one in our family, but he taught me a few things before I went off to college."   
  
Meanwhile, in the complex on the other side of the island, Wesker was in the breeding room. It was about the size of a large dining room. On the left wall from the entrance there were a series of computers which controlled various holding pens which housed some very nasty residents. On the right, there were about six, seven-foot high, cages. each one had a computer controlled door in the back that led outside to a large outdoor testing ground. It spanned about fifty miles in radius, and was fenced in by a large perimeter fence, maybe twenty feet high, and electrified. "Soon," said Wesker, "the hunting test will begin, and my new pets will devour all my test subjects, and then I will take care of Redfield and his friends." Wesker couldn't hold back an evil chuckle as he took a look at his new breed of Hunter. They were about six feet tall, and they had large claws that resembled human hands. They stood on two legs, but ran on all fours. Like their earlier cousins, they had reptilian skin, but unlike them, they had some fur running down their back, like a horse's mane, and cat-like facial features. The small amount of fur on their bodies was orangish, with a little white on the ends, and the fur was decorated with black tiger-like stripes. They had stronger instincts than the earlier breeds, but they tended to hunt alone. Wesker's research team had dubbed them tiger-hunters, because of their tiger-like appearance. Earlier tests had shown that they could withstand up to six shotgun blasts to the body. They were also capable of decapitating a human male with one powerful swipe of their claws, but they rarely used that tactic. They preferred to "play" with their prey, often causing their prey great pain before finishing it off. They also seemed to recognize their creators, and left them alone unless given the order to destroy. This made them perfect specimens as far as Wesker was concerned.  
  
The next morning, Barry and Rebecca were awakened by a blast of sunlight from the outside. They got their bearings, and noticed the jungle atmosphere outside their cell. On the other side of the complex, Billy Coen woke up to the same view, but he realized immediately that he wasn't alone in his cell anymore. On the other side of his cell was a small girl, about twelve or thirteen years of age. Just then, Wesker appeared before him and answered his unspoken question. "Lt. Coen, I had the honor of observing your behavior several months ago, when you and Rebecca Chambers escaped from the Umbrella training facility. I noticed you were something of the protective type, so I decided to give you something to protect. Lt. Coen, meet Sherry Birkin." Wesker left the two of them and shortly afterward, he made an announcement heard throughout the complex. "I hope you all had a goodnight's sleep, because you are about to be released, sort of. You see, you have two hours to find some weapons. Good luck, because when two hours are up, the hunt begins!" 


	7. The Hunt Begins

Chapter 6: The Hunt Begins  
  
Chris and the others went back to the landing zone to gather up the supplies they had left behind after they arrived. They knew they were in for a rough time, so they came prepared. Claire had a pair of uzis, Leon had his .50AE Desert Eagle and a 9mm Beretta, Chris had a Glock 17 and a "Barry Burton Special," which was a customized Colt Python that they affectionately referred to as a "hand-cannon." Jill carried a Samurai's Edge, which was a suped up 9mm Beretta with a scope. They found out that David had gone to target ranges with his father on many occasions, so they supplied him with a VP-70 9mm. They also had a sawed off Remington, and an M-16 assault rifle. They had at least three extra clips for each of the handguns, and about four extra boxes of shotgun shells. Chris and Leon carried the rifles on their backs in strapped rifle holsters. Jill had wanted to bring her favorite grenade launcher, but it would've been too heavy, as would the specially designed cases used to store the different types of grenades the launcher used.  
  
Billy couldn't believe what was happening to him. After the mess at the Umbrella Training Facility, he began to live a peaceful life under an assumed name, often thinking of the young S.T.A.R.S rookie who had aided him, and allowed him to avoid being courtmarshalled for a crime he didn't commit. Then, about a week ago, he was kidnapped and brought to this place. As of yesterday, he knew that Rebecca was somewhere around. The man who called himself 'Wesker' had clued him in when he was given back his dogtags. The same ones Rebecca had taken from him after their adventure. And now, he was going to be hunted down like an animal. God only knew what kind of atrocities would be hunting him down. He had no weapon, and he had to play babysitter for some kid that he didn't even know. He asked himself over and over, "What have I done to deserve this?"  
  
Barry and Rebecca stood in their now opened cell, and looked out at the expansive mass of foliage that lay before them. They knew that Wesker would have something terrible hunting them down. They could only imagine what it was. Here they were, with no weapons, and an unknown enemy lurking somewhere out there, waiting for them. Rebecca wondered why Wesker had been so interested in Billy's dogtags, and why he had taken them. Could he have Billy somewhere in this place? Wesker's voice came over the intercom once again. "I will tell you this once, and only once, so listen carefully," he demanded. "There is a weapon storage somewhere in the jungle that lay before you. I will give you two hours to find it. If you haven't found it by then, I suggest you hide well, otherwise, you can forget about reuniting with your friends. As soon as the glass window in front of you opens, your time will begin. Enjoy the final hours of your pathetic lives, for the hunt begins now!"  
  
Sherry looked up at Billy, and she could tell he wasn't happy with the situation he'd been thrust into. Afraid of what he might do, she just stayed quiet and followed him as they began their long trek. "So..." Billy started, surprising Sherry, "...What's your story kid. How'd you end up in this hellhole?" Sherry nervously responded, "Um, I was orphaned about five months ago." Billy thought for a moment, "Wait, you lived in Raccoon City?" "Yeah, how'd you guess?" "The timeframe seemed right." "What do you know about it?" asked Sherry, who decided that this guy might not be too bad afterall. "Let's just say I had my own dealings with Umbrella, about two months before Raccoon got wiped off the map." "Well," said Sherry, "my parents had worked for Umbrella, but they quit." "Good for them." "Not really," she continued, "You see, they developed something called the G-virus, but Umbrella wanted it all to themselves, so they shot my daddy." Billy looked stunned, "So what happened to your mom?" "My father killed her." Billy was now shocked. "It's not what you think. You see, after my father was shot, he injected himself with the virus to keep them from getting it. He turned into a monster, and as he lost his intelligence he no longer recognized her, so he killed her." Billy was beginning to realize just how bad Umbrella really was. "So how did you escape the city?" Sherry started to get happy, because this was the part of the story she loved. "A girl named Claire Redfield, and an RPD cop named Leon Kennedy came to town. They helped me survive, and unfortunately they had to kill the creature that had once been my father. There was also another monster that Claire had called Mr. X, that they destroyed. They took care of me for a little while, but then Claire left to find her brother Chris. I was taken as a ward of the state, and placed in a foster home, so Leon could join an anti-Umbrella organization over in Europe." Billy couldn't believe what he was hearing. This little girl had been through so much. He could tell, however, that she was very fond of this Leon guy, and especially this Claire woman. Sherry spoke up again, "I really miss them." "Your parents?" "Well, yeah, but they never seemed to have time for me. I was talking about Claire and Leon, I wish I could see them again." "So, how did you end up here?" Billy hated prodding the girl, but he was curious. "Some people came to the foster home and took me. They said they found a distant relative who was willing to take me in. But..." Sherry started to cry, "But they brought you here instead." "Yeah." "Why would Wesker want you here?" "I don't know for sure, but I think he knew my father."   
  
Chris and the others had been traveling for a while. They entered a clearing, and were about to rest, when suddenly they heard something that sounded like a deep growl. They readied their weapons, and out of the jungle came about a dozen creatures that resembled wolves. They looked like dead, decaying wolves, and they looked hungry. 


	8. And The Children Shall Lead

Chapter 7: And The Children Shall Lead  
  
Barry and Rebecca had been traveling for quite a while. They had no idea how much time had passed, they just knew they needed to find the weapon storage. Near the other side of the complex, Billy and Sherry were also searching. They'd been pretty silent since telling their stories, but Sherry felt very safe with Billy, but she still missed Claire. Billy was sure the girl would slow him down considerably, but she actually managed to keep up rather well. He was impressed at how well she'd been handling herself thus far, but he knew he would eventually have to protect her from Wesker's specimens.  
  
"Keep firing!" Chris shouted over the gunfire. He and the others had taken down about half the wolf-things, but they had each gone through a full clip in doing so. Finally, the last of them fell, or at least everyone thought. Before they knew it, one last creature pounced on Annie, and was about to feast. The others were in a bad position. If they fired from where they were, the bullets could go through the wolf-thing and hit Annie as well. "NOOO!! ANNIE!!" David screamed, afraid for his sister's life. The scream distracted the thing long enough to allow Chris and Leon to strike. They each took a side, and began running toward the creature. As they reached it, the two marksmen leaped, their sides almost parallel with the ground. They each fired their gun once. The bullets hit the creature on either side of it's canine skull, causing the head to explode in a torrent of blood and brain-matter. The others stared in disbelief at what just happened. However, Annie was getting sick. They all looked, and immediately realized why. Her attacker's body fluids had splattered all over her. They couldn't help but laugh at how gross she looked. "If you could only see yourself right now." Jill couldn't help it. "You look like you just stepped out of a horror movie." Annie wasn't amused. "Well how would you feel with all this icky stuff all over you!" "Kiddo," Jill said, "Been there, done that." Annie realized Jill was right, they all had been there before, and she suddenly started to laugh herself, knowing she could have been some thing's meal.  
  
Wesker watched his monitor with amusement, as he counted down the remaining five minutes before releasing his tiger-hunters. "You all should move a little faster," he thought out loud. "Time's up," he said, and he pushed the release button. The first tiger-hunter roared it's approval as it set out to find it's prey. Wesker looked at the remaining specimens, and he knew his rivals were doomed.  
  
Barry and Rebecca had gone east, and found a twenty-foot fence. They knew Wesker had no intentions of letting them live, but they refused to give up. They turned around and headed northwest. Meanwhile, Billy and Sherry had found there way to a small stream, where they drank. Sherry suddenly noticed something gleaming, about fifty yards ahead. "Billy, look!" she said excitedly. "Bingo!" He thought, as he realized it was the storage. "Good job Sherry. Let's go see what we can find." As they approached the small building. It resembled nothing so much as a high-tech shed, complete with a passcode lock. "Dammit!" Sherry looked puzzled. "Why would Mr. Wesker say we could find weapons here if we can't get in?" "Because, Sherry, he's playing a demented game with us. He wants us to be tested just as much as his experiments. I'll tell you what, let's try to find the clues we need to solve this thing. There are no numbers, only letters, so it must be a password of some kind."  
  
David led the others through the jungle, and they finally reached the river. "Okay, we need to make a human chain to figure out the depth and the current. Annie, stand back. Leon, you take the rear and act as an anchor. Claire, hold onto Jill, who will be holding onto me, and I'll hold onto David. David, you test the river. We start close to shore, and work our way out toward the middle, which should be the swiftest and deepest part of the river." Annie watched nervously, knowing that eventually, she would have to get in the water. Unbeknownst to them, a pair of red eyes watched from the bushes on the other side of the river. 


	9. Chance Meetings

Chapter 8: Chance Meetings  
  
"Billy, I found something!" Sherry called from the side of the storage. "What did you find?" "Look, it's some sort of a riddle, I think."  
They examined the plaque, and they found three others just like it. They each had a different riddle, and Billy figured that the password was actually four passwords. Each plaque was numbered, so he figured that they were put into the coded lock in that order. "Okay, Sherry, let's see if we can crack this thing." Sherry was beginning to like Billy more and more. Most adults wouldn't let her help out. "Alright," said Billy, "I'll read them out to you, and you see if you can solve them." "Gotcha," she responded. "Here goes."  
  
1. "I am the matriarch of all living things. My children enjoy the fruits of my labor."  
2. "I am a bringer of life. Without me, death is inevidable."  
3. "I am nature's cleanser. I destroy without prejudice, and do so with burning rage."  
4. "I am life itself. All things depend on me to survive."  
  
"Oh, this is so easy." Sherry remarked. "The first word is Earth. Matriarch means mother, and some cultures refer to the planet as Mother Earth. Trees grow from the earth, and some grow fruit, that we enjoy."  
Billy punched in earth, and a green light came on. "Great Sherry, it worked." "Okay, the second one is water. According to science, all life started in the water, and without it it, we die." Billy was getting impressed. He put it in, and another light came on. "Got it, next one." "The third one is the easiest of all. Fire destroys all things. 'Burning rage' gave that one away." Again, a light lit up. "Last one, Sherry." "Let's see, um, oh, I got it! Air, the last one is air. Without air, we can't breathe. We depend on air to breathe, otherwise we die." "That's it Sherry, we're in!"  
  
Wesker watched intently as the tiger-hunter closed in on Rebecca and Barry. "Do you think we'll ever find the weapon storage?" Rebecca asked. "Of course we will, the question is, will the thing Wesker mentioned find us first?" "I'd love to know how he survived the tyrant attack at Spencer's." "So would I Becky, but that will have to wait." Just then, Barry and Rebecca heard a terrifying growl.  
"It sounds like one of those dogs from Raccoon." "Yeah, or worse," replied Barry. Suddenly a large creature that resembled a hunter leaped out from behind the trees. "SHIT!" exclaimed Barry, as the tiger-like creature took a swipe at him, only missing by a couple of inches. Without weapons, Barry tried to wrestle with the powerful beast. The creature drove Barry back into a tree with seemingly little effort. "Nooo!" Rebecca screamed, as she jumped onto the much larger enemy's back, trying to choke it out. The tiger-hunter easily threw the ninety-three pound medic off with ease, and she hit another tree, getting knocked unconscious in the process. "Sonuvabitch!" screamed Barry as he continued to wrestle with the beast, barely keeping it from getting him with it's razor-sharp claws. Blam! Blam! Blam! The sound of gunfire pierced the air, and the bullets hit the beast square in it's large chest, knocking off balance. Barry took the opportunity to kick at it with as much force as he could. The monster fell back, but immediately began to get up. "Here, CATCH!" Billy threw a .357 magnum to Barry, who fired two shots at the beast. The bullets struck the beast in the chest and head. It staggered, and lunged at Barry, who was about to fire again, but it fell forward, dead. "Thanks for the help. Who are you?" "The name's Billy, Billy Coen. And you are?" "Barry Burton." Rebecca started to stir. Billy looked at her and gasped. "REBECCA!" Rebecca slowly came to, and she realized who was there. "B...Billy?" "You two...know each other?" asked Barry, looking confused. "Yeah," Billy answered, "We met outside Raccoon City, in the Arklay Mountains." "Well, Billy," said Barry, "We need to find shelter for her." "Right. Follow me."  
  
"Bravo!" Said Wesker, watching the monitor. "You lucked out this time Burton, but I have plenty more in store for you, and your friends." He looked in another monitor, and saw that Redfield and the others were at the river. "That's my good little S.T.A.R.S members," he said, referring to Jill and Chris. "Come to your captain." 


	10. River of Death

Chapter 9: River of Death  
  
"How is it David?" asked Leon, as the young man waded closer to the middle of the river. "It's pretty swift, but we should be able to do it." The river was about fifty wide, but Chris had brought plenty of rope for emergencies. "Okay, let's do it," Jill said. "Right. Claire, get the climbing rope from my backpack and tie it around one of those trees. I'll take the other end across and tie it over there. From there, each of you follow, using the rope." David looked back, and he could see that Annie was petrified. He went to his sister to calm her down. "Hey, Annie, it's okay. We'll make it." "I can't do this David. I...I'm too scared." "Listen Annie, we have to do this. These people are trying to help us. We can't let them down." "But you know I can't swim!" "You're not going to have to, the water's only a little past my waist." "Which is almost up to my shoulders. I might slip off the rope." "Hey, what's going on?" Leon asked. "Annie's afraid to cross on the rope." "Hey, don't sweat it. If you want, you can hang on to me when I cross. What do ya' say?" "You won't let me fall, will you?" "I promise." "Okay, but remember, you promised." "Deal." "Okay, start coming." Chris was shouting from the other side of the river. "Okay, " said Leon, "David, you first." David grabbed the rope and started to cross. "Claire, you're next, then Jill. Annie and I will follow." Claire made it across, but she slipped at one point, which caused Annie to shut her eyes. Jill also made it. "Are you ready Annie?" Annie was even more afraid than before. "I...I guess so." "Alright then, grab on, and hold tight." Leon and Annie were about halfway across, when a sudden attack put their lives in jeopardy.  
  
"Billy, what are you doing here?" asked Rebecca, who was doing better now, after the attack from Wesker's latest atrocity. "Honestly, I'm not sure. I was sleeping soundly one morning, when some guys in gas masks broke in. They used some sort of knockout gas on me, and when I woke up, I was here. Some maniac named Wesker had me in some sort of jail cell." "Well, Billy," said Barry, "It looks like we've got a common enemy." That's when Rebecca noticed Sherry. "Who's your little companion." "Barry, Rebecca, meet Sherry Birkin." "Sherry Birkin?" asked Rebecca, recognizing the name. "Yeah, you heard of her?" "Yes, we know all about her." said Rebecca. "How do you know about me?" Sherry sounded suspicious. "Well, it seems we have some friends in common." "What friends?" "Well," said Rebecca, "Do you know Claire Redfield?" Rebecca smiled, as she saw the little girl's face light up at Claire's mention. "You know Claire?" Sherry asked excitedly. "Yeah, we're good friends." Rebecca answered. "Believe us," said Barry, "Claire always speaks of you." "What about Leon?" the little girl asked. "Yep, we're friends of his as well." "Where are they? Are they with you?" Rebecca and Barry we're hesitant to respond. They certainly didn't want to alarm the girl, but the truth was, they had no idea where their friends were. They weren't sure that Leon and Jill had survived in Scotland. And they didn't know if Chris and Claire had begun searching for them. "Well, Sherry," Rebecca said, "We don't really know where they are. During our last mission, we were separated from Leon, and a lady named Jill. Claire and her brother Chris weren't with us." Some of the light faded from Sherry's face, and Rebecca felt ashamed for getting the child's hopes up. Rebecca and Barry looked at each other, also worried about their comrades.   
  
"Look out!!" shouted Chris as a grayish-black, red-eyed giant leaped out of the jungle. It was at least nine feet tall, and had claws where hands should've been. It looked toward the river, where Leon and Annie had stopped crossing. He saw that they were on a rope that was tied to a tree on either bank of the river. Meanwhile, Chris, Claire, David, and Jill started firing at it. "Keep him away from the rope!" Claire shouted, and as if it heard and understood what she had said it took a swipe at the rope, breaking it. "Annie!!" David shouted. "AAHH!" screamed Annie, "Leon! Help!" "Hang on Annie, I'll get us back to shore!" Leon began to climb up the rope, while Annie struggled to hold on. The tyrant then swiped at Claire, knocking her back into Chris, who was about fifteen feet away. "Claire!" He shouted as his sister's limp body crashed into his, flooring him. Jill and David stared in awe, as the tyrant turned his attention back to the river. They watched in disbelief as the giant leaped fifty feet to the other side of the river. Leon was about fifteen feet from shore, as Annie held on tight, nearly choking him with her fear induced grip. The next thing he knew, he and Annie were being swept away by the strong current, as the monster slashed through the rope again. "NOOO!" Screamed David, as he watched the whole thing from the other bank. And suddenly Leon and his sister had disappeared around the bend of the river. 


	11. Deadly Currents

Chapter 10: Deadly Currents  
  
Chris checked to see if Claire was still alive. "How is she Chris?" Jill asked, over the sound of gunfire. "She's still alive," he hollered as he came back into the fray. The tyrant made the incredible leap back to their side of the river, and headed toward Claire, who was unconscious from it's blow, just moments before. "Stay the hell away from her, you ugly bastard!!" Chris hollered, as he began firing magnum rounds into it's massive body. The heavy rounds began to stagger it. David, who had been sitting back, worrying about Annie, pulled the Remington from Chris's back-mounted rifle sheath. "This is for my sister!" He shouted, and started firing the pump-action rifle. The combined force of the Python and the Remington were too much for the tyrant, as it fell back into the river, with a huge splash.  
  
Leon and Annie were separated in the river, and he was desperately trying to get to the girl as she struggled to keep her head above the roaring river. "HELP!" she cried, "L...LEON! H...Help me!" Her words were continuously cut off by the water as it kept entering her mouth when she went under. Leon swam harder, he knew she couldn't swim, and she was panicking. She wouldn't have much time before she went under, never to surface again. "Hold on, Annie!" he called to her, as she thrashed and flailed her arms, and she went under again. "Please hold on!" he thought to himself. Suddenly, something grabbed his leg and pulled him below the surface. Annie saw him go down, and she knew all was lost. She had grown too weak, and as she sank below the surface, she began to black-out as the water roared into her mouth and ears and nose. The last thing she felt before blacking out completely, was her body hitting something in the water, then all was silent.  
  
"Where are they?!" cried David, terrified that he might never see his 'baby' sister again. After Claire came to, the four of them headed downriver to try and find Leon and Annie. "I'm positive they made it to shore, " Claire told him. The truth was, she was trying to convince herself as well. The situation seemed hopeless. Leon was a strong swimmer, but he was trying to keep himself alive in a strong current, while trying to save Annie, who couldn't swim and was panicking. "Leon," she thought to herself, "You have to be alright. You just have to." It was at that moment she realized, her feelings for the rookie cop were far deeper than friendship. She had felt the same about Steve Burnside, but to a lesser extent. She became even more determined to find Leon and Annie. Chris and Jill could see the fear in Claire's eyes, even as she tried to soothe David's fears. They could see now, more than ever, that there was something there. They had felt the same for each other when they were separated at the Spencer estate. They could tell that they had fallen for each other, just like they could see that Claire had fallen for Leon.  
  
Leon saw that the tyrant had been the thing that grabbed his ankle. He kicked at it as hard as he could underwater. His adrenaline was pumping, knowing Annie was drowning. He reached for his holster, where his Desert Eagle was still resting. He shoved it in the thing's mouth and thought to himself, "Eat this you sonuvabitch!" as he squeezed the trigger. It's head exploded as the fifty caliber round entered it's skull, the pressure of the water adding to the effect of the powerful shot. Leon surfaced, coughing, and gasping for air. He saw Annie. The river that had been drowning her, was now saving her life -he hoped- as the current held her in place against a large rock, with her head above the water. He swam to her and pulled her to shore. She wasn't breathing, but she had a weak pulse. He tilted her head back, seeing her pale features, accented by her bluish lips, and began CPR. 


	12. Escape Plan

Chapter 11: Escape Plan  
  
"1...2...3...4...5...Breathe," Leon counted the compressions as he continued CPR. "C'mon kiddo, breathe for me." He continued CPR for what seemed like an eternity, hoping and praying that Annie would come back to him. "You can do it, dammit Annie, breathe!!" He was not about to give up on her. He kept at it, determined that she would not die. Then, a cough. Annie coughed and coughed, coughing water up. "Yes!!" Leon now felt the sting of tears, as he tilted her head to the side, so she could get the water out of her lungs. "Easy, Annie...that's it, get it all out. You're gonna be okay, thank God, you're going to make it." Annie's vision was still a little blurry, as she began to see her rescuer. She grabbed him and held tightly, "Leon!" She began to cry. The events that had just transpired had begun to take their toll on her emotions. "Thank you, Leon, thank you. I thought I was dead." "It's okay now, you're safe." Suddenly, he heard a click, and the barrel of an AK-47 was held against the back of his head.  
  
Barry, Billy, and Rebecca gathered as much as they could from the weapons storage. They found a pair of MP100s, a Browning 9mm, a sawed-off shotgun, and enough ammo for about four reloads each. "Okay," said Barry, "We need to find a way out of this place. We'll get Sherry someplace safe, and then we'll pay a little visit to our buddy Wesker." "Sounds good," agreed Rebecca. "Yeah, but which way do we go. This place is surrounded by an electrified fence, at least twenty feet high," Billy said. "Not to mention the monsters out there," added Sherry. "Well, we have the ammo for them. However, finding a way past the fence is another problem altogether." "Wait, I just thought of something." "What is it Becky?" "Well, this is a weapons storage, right?" "Yeah, so?" Billy asked. "Think about it. The only way we know of to get out here from the complex is from the cells. That means..." Barry finished for her, "That means, there has to be a path somewhere that leads here from a gate." "Exactly. All we have to do is find the gate, figure out how to turn off the power to the fence, and we're out!" "Yeah, but we didn't see any signs of a path," Billy said. "Think about it, this is an Umbrella facility. They work in secret. Now, assuming there may have been people around this place, they would hide any path leading to a storage shed full of weapons." Sherry suddenly spoke up, "What about a secret tunnel?" "A secret tunnel?" asked Billy. "Yeah. There's a draft coming from behind that row of shelves over there." "That's it Sherry. Good job." Barry and Billy began pushing the metal shelves away from a hidden door.  
  
"Who are you? State your business." The voice was deep, and obviously male. "My name is Leon Kennedy. I just came here to visit the island." He lied, unwilling to give up the real reason he was there. He heard the man call to someone over a radio, "Miss Johnson, I've found intruders, one of them says his name is Leon Kennedy." A female voice answered back, "Bring them to me. Do not harm them, understood?" "Yes ma'am. I'll be there in about ten minutes." "What's this all about?" Leon asked. "Your presence could compromise our operation here." "What operation?" Leon asked, irritated. "You'll find out soon enough." "And why did the voice on the radio sound familiar?" Leon wondered to himself.  
  
"Amazing," thought Wesker, as he watched the group in the storage from his monitor room. "I see you all found the tunnel. Too bad you won't live to see the end of it." He glanced at another monitor, and noticed that Chris, Jill, Claire, and David were without the company of Leon and Annie. "I see you escaped the tyrant. But where are your friends?" He pushed the buttons to switch cameras, and noticed that the ones in Sector 10 were not working. "Damn," he thought, "Leave it to Umbrella to let their security cameras go unrepaired." He turned his attention back to Barry and his group, who had now entered the tunnel. "You think you found the way out, but unfortunately for you, the tunnel is a breeding ground for some very nasty creatures." 


	13. Blast From The Past

Chapter 12: Blast From The Past  
  
"How far does this tunnel go?" Rebecca asked. They had been walking for about twenty minutes down the concrete tunnel. Up ahead, they could see what looked like a wrecked jeep, and decided to investigate. "Look at this mess." Barry couldn't believe his eyes. "These poor soldiers," said Billy, "They look as though their heads were twisted off." "Yeah, and I get the feeling that the thing, or things, that did this are still around." Everyone looked at Barry, obviously worried he might be right. "I've seen this before." They looked at Sherry. "The same thing happened to alot of the cops at the RPD building last August." "Sherry? Do you know what did this?" Suddenly everyone heard a clicking sound on the concrete wall ahead, followed by what sounded like very raspy breathing. Sherry answered Rebecca's question, "Yeah, those." She pointed to a spot about twenty feet in front of them. "They're called 'Lickers'."   
  
Leon and Annie were taken to some sort of military base camp. They had their hands tied, and the guy that found them had taken Leon's guns and ammo. "Hey, what is this place? And why did you bring us here?" Leon could see a group of soldiers. They were wearing khakis and camouflage, as well as helmets attached to gas masks. They strongly resembled the dead soldiers he'd seen in the sewers below the RPD building in Raccoon City. "Great," he said, looking at Annie, "Umbrella mercs." "Don't ever refer to my men as Umbrella's mercs. We have nothing to do with Umbrella, Leon." Leon looked to see the female who'd addressed him by his name, and he did a double-take. "No. This can't be." he thought, "This is impossible." Leon then expressed his surprise out loud, "I'm dreaming, right? Umbrella found me on the riverbank, and are playing with my mind..." He was then interrupted. "No, Leon," she said, with a softer tone. "Ada? Is that really you?"  
  
Chris, Jill, Claire, and David had been following the river for what seemed like forever. "Hey! Over here!" Everyone went over to Chris. "Look, here's proof that Leon and Annie made it." Claire and David let out huge sighs of relief. Laying on the riverbank was the headless body of the tyrant that had attacked them a few hours before. "It looks like Leon's handiwork." said Jill, obviously impressed. She had only been on a couple missions with the young cop, and he impressed her more and more each time. "Yep, that's definitely the work of a Desert Eagle. Judging by the remnants of it's jaw, I'd say Leon fired the gun in it's mouth." Chris, like Jill, was impressed. Claire spoke up, "Where do you think they went?" "I don't know sis'. But I don't see any tracks, which means they must have been swept farther downstream after meeting our friend here." "Do you really think they made it?" David asked, concerned. "Well, if they survived this monstrosity, I doubt the river could finish them off."  
  
"Why do they call these things lickers?" Billy asked. His answer came quickly, as one of the four creatures whipped it's tongue out from the ceiling, and knocked one of the MP100s out of Rebecca's hand. "What the hell?" Billy was in awe, but not for long, as one of the lickers leaped toward him, easily covering the distance between them. He managed to move out of the way before one of it's long, curved, blade-like claws could strike him. He drew the Browning, and killed it with about ten shots to the torso. Meanwhile, Barry took out the sawed-off shotgun, and blasted two more. Three shots each, and they were out for the count. The last one had Sherry cornered, but Rebecca unloaded with the one MP100 she still had. It was blown back, and let out a terrible squealing noise as it convulsed and died. "Whew! That was close." Rebecca said, relieved. "Yeah, too close." Barry agreed. "Let's get moving. And watch out for anymore surprises." After another half-an-hour of walking, they came out of the tunnel. "Look! There's the gate!" Sherry was obviously excited. "Well, let's see if we can figure out how to turn off the power to the fences." 


	14. Secrets Revealed

Chapter 13: Secrets Revealed  
  
Leon was still in shock. He couldn't believe that Ada was still alive. He needed answers, and he needed them now. "How is it that you're still alive Ada? I mean... I saw you fall." "The fall wasn't as far as you thought, Leon. Oh, and my name is no longer Ada Wong. I changed it to Amanda Johnson. After the Raccoon lab was destroyed, I went into hiding. I needed recovery time, so I took a leave of absence." "So how much did Umbrella pay you to use me, Ad...Amanda?" Leon asked, obviously bitter. "Dammit Leon, I told you, I do not work for those bastards!" "Well then who do you work for? And why didn't you tell me in Raccoon City, after all I did for you!? I took a bullet for you! And you betrayed me!" Now it was her turn to be shocked. She couldn't believe how upset he was, but she couldn't blame him. She had betrayed his trust. "Don't you think I wanted to tell you Leon? But it was in my job description, not to tell anyone what I was doing in Raccoon City that night." "You still haven't told me who you work for." "Okay Leon, I'll tell you. I owe you that much."  
  
"Any luck on your end Billy?" "No Barry. I can't find a fuse box anywhere. And there's no kind of lock that I can see." "Hey guys, over here!" They went to see what Rebecca and Sherry had found. "It's a guard tower. There's another one over there. One of them has to have the mechanism that unlocks that gate." "Okay, Rebecca, you and Sherry work on getting inside this one, and Billy and I will check out the other. Holler if you get any surprises." "Yes sir! Captain Burton Sir!" Rebecca teased. Barry shot back, "Don't make me hurt you soldier." Billy could tell that Barry and Rebecca were close. "I guess hunting Umbrella down does that to you," he thought, and he went to work.  
  
"Find anything Chris?" "No Jill, not yet." Claire went over to David, who still looked very worried. "Penny for your thoughts?" "It's nothing Claire." "C'mon Dave, I know your worried sick about your sister." "She's all I've got now. I promised my father that I would take care of her, get her off this God forsaken island. And look at me, I couldn't even do that right." "Hey, don't beat yourself up. It's not your fault." "Yes it is Claire. I should've left her at the cave, where she'd be safe. I mean, what if she drowned. I don't think I could stand it if I found her dead." "I understand what you're going through. I felt the same way for a long time when I was separated from Chris. And when I lost Steve, I felt so guilty, because he died saving me. And now, there's Leon." "You really care for him, don't you?" "Yeah, I guess I do. I care very deeply for him. And I can't help thinking that he's out there, somewhere. He may be dead, he may be alive, but I don't know and it's killing me." The last few words came out in a stutter, as Claire's emotions began to take over. And now it was David's turn to comfort her. "It's okay Claire, we'll find them." "Uh...ahem...Hey you two, c'mon. Chris found some tracks leading into the jungle." Claire and David both began to feel relieved. There may be hope yet.  
  
"I work for a special branch of the CIA. It specializes in tracking down, and stopping, the spread of possible biohazardous chemicals. When we read the stories about the "cannibal" murders in Raccoon City last July, we knew Umbrella was trouble. Umbrella was the only major pharmaceutical company operating in Raccoon, so we suspected they had something to do with these incidents. The RPD S.T.A.R.S confirmed it for us, when they discovered the mysterious experiments taking place in the Spencer lab." Leon interrupted the story, "So when did you come into play? You were investigating the Birkins. At that time there was no official link between them and Umbrella Corporation." "We recieved an anonymous tip. Someone reported that STARS captain, Albert Wesker, was involved with Umbrella. Specifically, William Birkin. We were told that Birkin had nearly perfected the G-virus, and that he planned to sell it to the highest bidder. We also found out that Wesker and Birkin had recently broken ties with Umbrella, and that Umbrella mercenaries were in the process of hunting down Birkin. They arranged for me to make contact with an inside man. A man named John." "Wait," Leon interrupted again, "You told me that you had been seeing John. I found out later that he used your name as a password, to get into the Spencer Labs. So your unit had to have been investigating Umbrella before that." "Yes. I tried to slip that one by you, but you catch on quick." Leon smiled a little, "I try. So anyway, go on." "Well you pretty much know the rest of the story." "Not yet Ada...er, Amanda." "It's alright Leon, you can call me by my real name, Ada." "Anyway, Ada, what about the incident in Raccoon." "I was sent in to retrieve a sample of the G-virus, so that my people could figure out the antidote, in case of another outbreak. Annette Birkin was right about my being a spy, but it wasn't for Umbrella. After she shot me, I fell about twenty-five feet. Given the extent of my injuries, thanks to a certain scientist-come-super-creature, I was lucky to survive. I made my way to the train platform. Along the way, I found a secret compartment that housed a rocket launcher. I got to the platform, and I saw your friend Claire, battling a tyrant. I was too hurt to do anything much, so I tossed her the RL, and she destroyed the monster. After that, I managed, somehow, to get aboard one of the train cars, and I hid. When the train was about to blow, I saw you and Claire, and the Birkins' child escaping. I found a maintenance tunnel that was built into the train tunnel, and I went inside and hid. The train blew up, you all had been picked up, and I took a long vacation." Leon was stunned, but he knew the strangest tales were almost always true, so he believed her. He then asked, "What brings you here?" "We discovered that one of Umbrella's labs were on this island. We also have reason to believe that Albert Wesker is somewhere on this island. He's wanted for questioning, in regards to the incidents in Raccoon City." "If he's no longer with Umbrella, then why would he be here?" "Because, Leon, we believe Wesker led a hostile takeover of the Umbrella Labs on this island. We also think he has access to files concerning more of Umbrella's atrocities. Now that you know everything, or at least most of it, would you be willing to help us in this endeavor to stop Wesker?" "Yeah, but I need to contact my friends. we were separated during a tyrant attack at the river. I also want your solemn promise that you won't let anything happen to Annie or her brother." "It's a deal. We will try to meet up with your friends as soon as possible. And Leon, thank you."  
[Not part of the story]  
  
Whew! There was alot of explaining in that chapter. Tell me what you all think of the Ada situation. If you all have any suggestions for future chapters, feel free to run them by me in your reviews. I might use them, and I will credit you if I do. Once again, please keep the reviews coming. Constructive criticism is always welcome, but I don't take too kindly to flames, so please, be nice! 


	15. Breakout!

Chapter 14: Breakout!  
  
"Jill said you found some tracks?" Claire looked at her brother, wondering if he had good news to tell her, or bad. "Yeah. These tracks show that Leon and Annie definitely survived the river. There are two sets of prints, one significantly larger than the other. So that means they went this way. But only a little further up this makeshift trail, there's a third set, but it's behind the other two, about a gun length apart." "So what does that mean?" asked David. "Well, it's rather simple really, it means that we're not the only living people on this island. Whoever this other set belongs to, probably caught them by surprise, and could be holding them captive." "You don't think..." Chris knew exactly what his sister was about to say, "Yeah sis'. Umbrella might have them." The other three were silenced by Chris's hunch. He usually had strong hunches that tended to be right. For Leon and Annie's sakes, they hoped he was wrong this time.  
  
Billy and Barry found their way in to one of the guard towers, and quickly dispatched about three zombies. They all had been guards at the gate, and they had some extra handgun ammo that Barry was only too happy to take. Meanwhile, Rebecca and Sherry made their way up to a small control room at the top of their three-story tower. They had to climb the stairs because the small elevator in the tower had been out of order. Rebecca found the gate control and pressed the switch. A message came up on the small screen above it. It read: Gate to Sector 5 partially unlocked, please release second security lock. At that moment, there was a sound coming from the elevator. It sounded like something was trying to get through. "Hey Billy, check this out." Billy went over to see what Barry found. It was another button for the gate. The same message from the first tower was emblazoned across the screen. "Presto!" said Barry, as he pushed the button. Just then a voice came over the intercom, that blared across the courtyard. " The security gate to Sector 5 is now accessible. 'You have 5 minutes until the gate automatically locks again. It cannot be re-opened for another 12 hours.' "You heard the lady Billy, let's move!"  
  
"Leon, I'm sorry for deceiving you. You must understand, I had no choice." Leon looked at Ada's face, and he could see she was sincere. He understood the situation, but it still hurt. However, he felt he could trust her now, not that he had much choice in the matter. "It's okay, Ada. I probably would have done the same in your situation. But that's in the past, we need to find the people I came with, and then we need to shut down Umbrella's little island hideaway." "Captain Christopher." Ada was speaking to one of the hired guns she was leading. "Yes, Ma'am." "I want you to show Mr. Kennedy here our facility. Meanwhile, I would like you to send some of your men to find his friends. They're undoubtedly searching for him and the girl. When you find them, bring them here. I have a feeling we'll need their help." "Understood." He then turned to Leon, "Ahem... Sorry for the unpleasant introduction Mr. Kennedy." Leon interrupted, "Please, call me Leon." "Right, uh, Leon. I'm Captain James Christopher of the B.T.I.U, or Bio-Terrorism Investigation Unit. But, you can call me 'Hunk'." "Hunk?!" "Yeah, my friends nicknamed me that because of my size, not to mention my way with the ladies." Hunk said with a smile, but Leon recognized the name, and he wasn't amused. "You sonuvabitch!" Leon was already swinging when he said it, and a stiff right hook sent Hunk sprawling in front of him. "You Umbrella bastard!" and Leon was about to attack him again, but Ada jumped in between them. "STOP! Leon, it's okay! He's not with them anymore!"  
  
"Run Sherry!" Rebecca yelled. The elevator door opened, and two Hunters leaped out, and stared at their new prey with yellow eyes that Rebecca knew all too well. She managed to fire about five shots. That didn't do much more than surprise the reptilian stalkers. They readied themselves to pounce, and Rebecca waited, hoping to time it right. They pounced, and she dodged them, as she somersaulted out the opened door of the control room. She slammed the heavy door shut, but it was stopped by the claw of one of the Hunters. It pulled it's hand out, shrieking in pain, and Rebecca couldn't help but smile a little, "Serves you right, you freak!" She finished slamming the heavy door and ran down the steps most of the way, but as she reached the first floor, she leaped over the railing to the floor below, tumbling as she landed, so the impact wouldn't hurt her. Sherry was already out the door, and as Rebecca followed, she heard the sound of breaking glass. Shards of it pelted the ground, as the two Hunters landed on the ground near Sherry and herself. She wasn't a great shot, but she fired a lucky shot that went through the right eye of one Hunter, killing it instantly. She aimed at the other, but clicked empty. "Oh no!" She thought, realizing she had forgotten to reload after she switched her MP100's with Billy's Browning. She wouldn't have time to reload, but then she heard the thundering boom of a shotgun blast that sent the creature into the guard tower wall. "Becky, let's go!" Barry shouted, and he fired one more shot into the head of the second hunter, killing it. They managed to reach the outer gate, and get out to Sector 5, just as the locks to the gate clicked, sealing it for another twelve hours. 


	16. Uneasy Alliance

Chapter 15: Uneasy Alliance  
  
The tension in the air was as thick as the jungle foliage, as Leon and Hunk led the search party toward the river to find the others.  
"So, how did you know I had been with Umbrella?" "I recognized your name. Friends of mine said that they had read a file about some cargo being delivered to Antarctica. They said that you had been the one in charge of the delivery." "I see you've done your homework. Incidently, I won't hold my aching jaw against you." "Listen, Captain Christopher...Hunk...whatever the hell your name is, I'm not trying to be buddy, buddy with you now that you left Umbrella. The fact remains, you have been involved with them from the beginning, and I'm still not sure that I can trust you." "Fair enough, Leon. But just so you know, I never knew why they wanted the G-virus. I never knew what cargo I was transporting. All I knew, was that it was my job, whether I liked it or not." "You didn't like it, so I guess that makes it okay that you practically murdered William Birkin. I don't like what Birkin was up to, but the thing is, Hunk, if you hadn't shot him, he wouldn't have injected the G-virus into himself, and he wouldn't have become a damn near unstoppable bio-creature that tried to kill me, my friends, and his own daughter. Tell me something Hunk, did it ever bother you -when you were cashing your nice, big paychecks- that innocent lives were being destroyed?" "No. At least not until..." Hunk was starting to choke up a little, "...Until the T-virus infected my family. Tell me Leon, have you ever had to pull the trigger to kill a friend, or loved one. I did, and I couldn't take it anymore. It happened about a month-and-a-half ago. I had recently returned from Antarctica, and I was looking forward to a nice long week of R&R with my wife, and our two young daughters. I walked in the door, and my children had become those things, and they had attacked their mother. I had no choice, I shot them, and my wife. I then set fire to the house, and I left Umbrella. I discovered that the BTIU were looking for well-trained recruits to try and stop Umbrella. I was hired because of my experience with the company." Leon really didn't know what to say. He looked at Hunk through different eyes. He realized that the man was not as evil as the people he'd worked for.  
  
"I knew you would be worthy adversaries. After all, you did work for me." Albert Wesker was watching the monitor. He could see that Barry, Rebecca, Billy, and Sherry had escaped the testing ground, and had entered Sector 5. "Well, they have entered a clear zone." Wesker was right about that. Sector 5 had been free of virus carriers for some time now. When he and his team had invaded the island, he had single-handedly cleared the five mile radius of the sector. His "viral abilities," as he chose to call them, had given him the ability to do so. "It really is amazing..." he thought, "the strength and endurance of a g-tyrant, the speed and agility of a hunter, and the intelligence of man, all rolled into one six-foot tall body, mine!"   
  
Chris and the others were following the tracks, when they heard voices from about a fifty yards away, concealed by the trees. "Quick, hide. Let them go by, and then resume search." They all followed Chris's order, and several moments later they could see Leon, flanked by about three BTIU agents. "Look, it's Leon!" Jill pointed out. "Is Annie with them?" "No David, I don't see her." Chris didn't waste any time, he leaped out of the hiding spot behind the soldiers. "STOP! Right there!" They all turned, with machine guns ready. "WAIT!" Leon shouted, "That's who we're looking for!" "LEON!" Claire came out of hiding and ran to him, and hugged him tightly. "Oh, Leon, I was...WE were so worried about you! We found what was left of the tyrant, and we were afraid that you and..." David interrupted her, "Where's Annie?" "She's okay, David. She's back at camp. These men work for the BTIU, or Bio-Terrorism Investigative Unit. Their leader is someone I know from Raccoon. Her name is Amanda, but her real name is Ada." Claire looked stunned. Leon had told her about Ada, and suddenly she was worried that Leon would go back to Ada, instead of hooking up with her. "Well, it's not like I've ever made my feelings for him known," she thought to herself. A short while later, they arrived at the campsite and the tears flowed as brother and sister were finally reunited. "ANNIE!!" "DAVID!" Annie squealed as she ran to her older brother and held on as if she were never going to let him go. Annie started coughing heavily, and David instantly became worried. "It's okay," said Leon, "She's just very excited right now, and she still isn't fully recovered from the ordeal in the river." "Oh, Annie, I promise that I will take care of you from now on." He gave her a brotherly kiss on the forehead, and they fell asleep next to each other a few hours later. "Those two remind me alot of us, Chris. We became so close after Mom and Dad died, and then Umbrella happened." "Yeah, but now we have reinforcements. This Ada woman seems to know her stuff." "Yeah, I guess so." "C'mon sis', spill it, she bothers you. Why? We've heard her story, I think she's trustworthy." "It's not that, Chris. It's..." "It's Leon? You've fallen for him. And now you think, since Ada is back, they can finally resume the relationship they started almost six months ago?" "Yo know me too well big brother." "Listen, I truly believe Leon's feelings are for you. I've seen how he looks at you. I wouldn't worry about her too much." "You always could make me feel better." They all fell asleep, with everyone taking turns keeping watch. The next morning would be the time to plan. 


	17. Plan of Attack

Sorry for the lack of updates. I had a bit of a dry spell, then, when I was ready to start again, I couldn't type another chapter, because I wasn't home. Thanks for your patience, and the continued interest. Thanks also to those who've added such great reviews. I hope I am able to keep the interest going.  
  
Chapter 16: Plan of Attack  
  
The night went by peacefully. The next morning, everyone seemed to be adding their input on a possible attack plan.  
"I suggest we split our forces into three groups. One team can head toward the Sector 5 entrance to the compound, another team can head toward the hotel, as we have reason to believe that the hotel houses a secret entrance to the Umbrella labs. The other group will be the largest group. The reason being, is that they will be the backup. We would be able to leave the kids here, where they would be guarded by the backup team. This would also allow the backup to branch off into two or three groups of five or more. With the combined efforts of the ex-S.T.A.R.S, their friends, and the B.T.I.U, we should be able to stop the HCF, and any little surprises along the way."  
Chris and the others listened intently, and could find no major flaws in Ada's plan. "Did you say HCF?" Chris asked, all the while thinking to himself, "Why do those initials sound familiar?" "I thought this establishment was owned and run by Umbrella Corporation?" Ada answered Claire's question, "We have reason to believe that the HCF staged a hostile takeover of the facility on this island..." She turned her attention toward Chris, "...under the command of someone you should know very well Mr. Redfield." The reason HCF seemed familiar suddenly clicked in Chris's mind. "Albert Wesker." "Yes. The ex-S.T.A.R.S captain that tried to wipe out the Raccoon City branch." Just the name 'Wesker' sent chills up Claire's and Jill's spines. "Chris," said Jill, "if what you and Claire told me about Wesker was true, then we may not be able to stop him." Ada spoke again, "It's a chance we have to take Miss Valentine. We heard about his special abilities. The informant we sent in to the HCF -after finding out about their intentions- was killed by Wesker after sending us the information.  
  
Meanwhile, in Sector 5, Barry and the others had been able to rest through the night as well, and they were heading south, not realizing that they were heading toward the campsite in Sector 10. As they passed the invisible boundary between Sectors 5 and 6, they began to hear a loud thud, that sounded like large feet walking at a high rate of speed. Instinctively, Barry, Rebecca, and Billy took a guarding stance in front of Sherry. There they saw the single-largest arachnid beast they ever encountered. It was easily double the size of the mutated spiders they'd encountered in and out of Raccoon City. They began to fire, but they quickly discovered that it had a thick, spiky exoskeleton that seemed to be impenetrable. "What the hell is that thing?" "Dammit," shouted Rebecca, "I HATE SPIDERS!!"  
  
"Commander Wesker Sir!" "Yes Lieutenant?" "We have discovered that the camera system in Sector 10 has been completely disabled. We attempted to repair it, but were unsuccessful." "Very well then. Send some of your finest men to that sector, and have them eliminate any intruders. However, I want the three people in this photograph taken alive, and brought to me. Is that understood?" "Yes sir." "Oh, the things I have planned for you Redfield. You, your sister, and Valentine. Soon Chambers and Burton will be nothing more than bloodstains on the jungle floor, and then Chris... you, Jill and Claire will become Umbrella's latest victims. You will be discovered by an anonymous source, and Umbrella will also get the send off it deserves, and my revenge will be complete, and the Foundation will profit from the largest corporate shutdown in the history of the world."  
[not part of the story]  
  
I know this chapter is a little short, but I'm still trying to get out of my recent dryspell. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Will Wesker's plan succeed? We shall see. 


	18. Old Flames, New Loves

Another thank you to my reviewers, and Dragon: fear not my friend, a S.T.A.R.S reunion is right around the corner.  
  
Chapter 17: Old Flames, New Loves  
  
Rebecca, Barry, and Billy continued to attack the armored arachnid, but they were not having much luck. "There's gotta be a way around that exoskeleton!" Barry shouted. "I'm running low on ammo!" Rebecca was shouting, as Sherry began to run past the creature. Billy hollered after her, "Sherry! Where are you going!" Rebecca and Barry turned their attention to the girl, and they saw her climbing a steep hill, where some loose rocks were beginning to fall. Barry shouted to the other two, "Up there!" He pointed up to the hilltop, and following Sherry's lead, they all ran to the base of the hill, and started to climb. Luckily, the giant spider was slow to catch on. Billy, Rebecca, and Barry saw the creature as it began to climb as well. "NOW!" shouted Billy, and they started pushing on the loose rocks. Just as things started to seem hopeless, the rocks started to fall, sending the spider back to the ground, and burying it beneath tons of rubble. "WOOHOO!" Sherry shouted, and the others all seemed quite relieved as well. "Whew! That was close!" Barry was wiping his brow, and checked his ammo reserves. The others followed suit, and they were down to less than half of the ammo they left the storage with. Rebecca spoke up, "We better get moving." The others all nodded in agreement and they went down the hill, and continued on their way, wondering what surprises they had in store for them.  
  
Ada was sitting with the others, discussing strategy, when a call came over her radio. Jill instantly recognized the thick Hispanic accent on the other end, as it explained what was happening on it's side. "Yo, Chica! All the cameras in the other sectors have now been disabled, we are heading back to camp now, ETA is about twenty minutes." "Good job Lt. Oliveira. We will be awaiting your arrival. Also, we have some new teammates that I'd like you to meet." "Roger, Senorita, see you then eh?" Jill couldn't believe her ears. "Ada?" She asked, "Was that Carlos Oliveira?" "Why, yes Jill. You know him?" Chris looked at the two ladies, and couldn't resist the temptation to tease Jill a little bit. "Oh, Miss Valentine, should I be jealous?" "I don't know Mr. Redfield," Jill teased back, "Should you?" Chris flashed her a winning smile, and Claire smiled at her brother and said, "Watch out big brother, you may have some competition." "Not in this lifetime little sister." Jill then decided to get one more quip in, "Hmm, aren't we confident?" "Miss Valentine," Chris said, "You have no idea." And he leaned in to kiss her. "More of that, Chris, and um, I might keep you around." Suddenly Leon joined in, "Will you two get a room?" "Really," added Claire, "I don't feel like watching my big brother make-out with some chick." Leon and Claire exchanged glances, and Ada decided to say something. "Ahem, Leon?" Leon looked at her and replied, "Yeah Ada?" "Can I speak to you? Privately." "Uh, sure, I'll be back Claire." Claire couldn't help feeling a little jealous, as she thought to herself, "Well, it didn't take long for him to run to her, did it?"  
  
"Commander Wesker sir! The camera systems all over the island have begun to malfunction." "WHAT! Didn't I tell you to track down the intruders and stop them?!" "Yes sir, but we are awaiting the arrival of more soldiers sir." "Very well then," said Wesker, who, in the blink of an eye had gone from his chair and was now in front of the frightened mercenary. His hand wrapped around the man's throat, as he lifted him high in the air with little effort, "You shall carry out my orders, to the letter, when your soldiers arrive. You will do it swiftly, or I will break your neck, and watch you suffer as you die, understood?" The man couldn't speak, all he could do was nod, as he felt the cold grip of Wesker's gloved hand tighten, and cut-off his air supply for a brief moment, before he was thrown to the floor.   
  
"Leon," Ada spoke softly, "I want to apologize again, for leading you on in Raccoon City. I also wanted to say that I think you and Claire make a wonderful couple." Leon wasn't sure what to say. He had fallen for Claire, but he thought he would never get over Ada, which wouldn't have been fair to Claire. Now, here was Ada, releasing him, so to speak. "Ada...I," "Shh, It's okay Leon, I meant it. You see, I've moved on, and I think you should too." "Ahem! Um, I hate to interrupt," it was Claire. "Carlos has returned."  
"Okay, thank you. Leon, why don't you talk to Claire, while I let Carlos in on our plans." "So, what was that all about?" "This..." Leon leaned in, and softly kissed Claire, who was only too happy to return the favor. "Claire, if anything should happen on this mission, I just want you to know, I..." Claire knew what he was about to say, and she interrupted, "I know Leon. Me too." And with that they kissed one more time before joining the others. Jill and Carlos enjoyed a happy reunion, and after everyone was introduced, they said goodbye to David and Annie, and headed off toward their destinations. They would have to travel to Sector 7 before splitting up, but little did they know, they were about to be reunited with their long-lost friends. 


	19. Surprise Attack

Chapter 18: Surprise Attack  
  
Ada filled Carlos in on the plan. "This plan should go accordingly, now that Carlos' unit has disabled the cameras on the island. "Wait a minute," said Chris, "Are you saying that Wesker probably knows we're here?" "That's what it sounds like to me Chris." Jill answered. "I don't think he believes you're a threat. He probably thinks you're here to stop Umbrella. However, he's probably plotting your untimely demise as we speak." "For some reason, Ada, that doesn't make me feel any better," said Claire. "Does he know about this camp?" asked Leon. "No. Carlos disabled the cameras in this sector first." Just then, they heard the sound of a military chopper. When they looked up, they saw about twenty or thirty paratroopers jumping out of their transport.  
  
Meanwhile, Barry and the others were about halfway through Sector 6, but they were certainly not alone. About a dozen zombies came out of nowhere, and were ready for a feast. "Damn!" shouted Billy, and he started firing. As Billy and Rebecca fired at the rotting corpses, Barry turned around just in time to spot three more closing in on Sherry. "Sherry!" he shouted, "Look Out!!" He pulled the trigger, but clicked empty. "SHIT!" He exclaimed, and next thing he knew, he was charging the unholy trio. Sherry dove out of the way as Barry closed in like a linebacker. He dug his shoulder into the putrid gut of one zombie, and rammed it's back into the nearest tree. As it struggled to regain it's footing, Barry ran and clotheslined one of it's buddies. He stalled for only a second, to pivot, and level the third one with a huge right cross that would've made Mike Tyson cringe. Sherry winced at the sound of the sickening crunch, as Barry crushed it's skull under his booted heel. The first one regained it's balance and grabbed Barry from behind. He turned and grabbed the creature's head and, with one swift twist, he snapped it's neck like a twig. The remaining member of the threesome was getting back up, but a well placed shot from Billy's handgun ended it's attempt to recuperate. "Thanks," said Barry. He then muttered, "I am really getting too old for this shit!" Billy then turned to the larger man and said, "Remind me never to piss you off." The four of them let out a light chuckle, and continued on their way.  
  
"Who the hell invited them to the party?" Carlos exclaimed, as he and the rest of them prepared to fight. David and Annie couldn't resist the urge to see what was going on. Bullets were flying everywhere, and one came extremely close to David's head. "Take cover you two!" David and his sister didn't hesitate to follow Chris's order. "I thought you said they didn't know about this place?!" Ada looked at Leon after his question and answered, "Wesker must've realized the cameras had been disabled in this area!" she shouted above the gunfire. Several BTIU soldiers were already dead, but so were many of Wesker's men. Leon killed four of the HCF mercs, while Ada and Claire cleared about five others. One of them tried to attack Jill from behind, but was quickly dispatched by Carlos, who was suddenly knocked back by a shotgun blast to his chest. "Carlos!!" Jill shouted. She opened fire and took out about six of the enemies, while Chris dispatched the last four. Suddenly, from out of the hovering chopper came two more gatecrashers.  
  
Barry, Billy, Rebecca, and Sherry had crossed over to Sector 7. "Wow, what is this place?" asked Sherry. "It looks like a small outpost," said Barry. "Let's look around, their might be something useful." They all conducted a thorough search, and came up with a little more ammo. They reloaded their weapons, and then Rebecca made a startling, but welcome discovery. "Hey guys...look what I found!" "ALRIGHT!!" Billy exclaimed, as they came over to Rebecca, and laid eyes on an abandoned military jeep. They all jumped in the beat up jeep, and headed out. After traveling for about fifteen or twenty minutes, they heard the sound of gunfire. "What the hell?" asked Barry, and he stepped on the gas. 


	20. STARS Unite

Chapter 19: S.T.A.R.S. Unite  
  
"What the hell are those?" Chris's sentiment was shared by all those around him, as the tiger-hunters landed on the ground in front of them. "I don't care what they are, just kill them!" shouted Ada, who was already firing her VP-70. Several BTIU soldiers were firing as well, but the monstrosities were hardly phased by the gunfire, and they swiftly disposed of five soldiers with little effort. Leon fired three shots from his magnum, hitting one of them in the chest. The impact knocked it off balance, but only for a moment. It quickly rebounded, and backhanded the young ex-cop. The impact sent Leon sprawling about fifteen feet away. "LEON!!" Claire shouted, as Leon lay unconscious. "Damn, that's two down!" screamed Jill, as the second one leaped toward her, easily clearing the thirty foot gap, and it stood poised to attack.  
  
"I don't like the sound of that," said Rebecca, as Barry stopped the jeep about twenty yards from the campsite. Barry, Billy, and Rebecca ran toward the action, and Sherry stayed in the jeep. Barry recognized the attackers immediately. "It's those damn tiger-hunter creatures, like the one that attacked us at the facility." "Barry, look! It's Chris and Jill!" Rebecca shouted, and the three of them quickly joined the action.  
  
The creature was about to strike, when a heavy shotgun blast blew it back. Jill barely had time to react when she heard the most welcome male voice she'd ever turned her ears to. "Is this a private party? Or can anybody join!!" Barry quipped, as he fired two more shotgun blasts. One slammed into the creature's skull, killing it instantly. Billy quickly joined in, firing a pair of uzis he'd found at the abandoned station. "Hey big guy, save some for us!" shouted Billy, as he and Rebecca finished off the other creature. After the ceasefire, Jill ran over to Barry, and gave him a huge bear-like hug, "BARRY!!!" she screamed, and Chris came over to them, "Well, It's about damn time you showed up!" The two best friends clasped hands, and gave each other a brotherly embrace. Sherry was in the jeep, relieved that the gunfire had stopped. It was then that she heard a familiar voice. "Rebecca, quick, Leon's been hurt." Sherry knew right away it was Claire, and she jumped out of the jeep and ran toward the campsite.  
  
Rebecca looked around, and couldn't resist saying to Jill, "Boy, do you guys always have to make such a mess?" "Sorry kid," said Chris, "It's a force of habit. You know how it is, you can't take us anywhere." Suddenly, they all heard a young girl call out, "CLAIRE! CLAIRE!" Claire turned and saw her, responding with surprise and joy, "Sherry!? Oh my God, it is you!" The two of them embraced, and Sherry noticed Leon. "Claire? What happened to Leon? Is he?...." As if right on cue, Leon began to wake up, interrupting Sherry's question. "Uhn, did you get the number of that train?" "LEON!" Sherry shouted, as she ran over and hugged the ex-cop. "Sherry!? What are you doing here? I mean, I'm happy as hell to see you, but, how'd you end up here?" Just then, everyone else heard another moan, and looked to see Carlos stirring. "Aye Carumba! What happened?" Jill went over to him and seemed rather puzzled, but happy. "Carlos, you're alive! I thought..." "Hey mamacita, it's not that easy to get rid of me." He opened his shirt, and revealed a very beat up bulletproof vest. As he took off the vest, some heavy bruising was already beginning to show. Rebecca noticed it and went over to him. After a thorough examination, the young medic spoke to Carlos, "You are one lucky S.O.B. You're going to need lots of rest. You have a couple cracked ribs, and a bruised sternum. That must've been some shotgun blast." "Sorry, chica, but I can't just rest on my ass all day. We have a fight to win." "Sorry Carlos, you're temporarily out of action." "No way! I am fine, you're all going to need me. I can still fire a gun." Rebecca looked at him, and then asked Ada, "Is he always this stubborn? And pig-headed?" Ada smiled a little, and nodded, "Yes, he is, but I think he'll be alright, as long as he restricts himself to using a light firearm. You might as well let him, otherwise he'll take it upon himself to try and join us."   
  
Everyone was introduced, and after burying the fallen soldiers, they began to make new plans. They would divide themselves up into two groups. Chris, Jill, Leon, Claire, Hunk, Ada, Barry, Rebecca, Carlos, and Billy gathered up weapons, ammo, and other necessary supplies. They said their goodbyes to Sherry, Annie, and David -who stayed with the remaining BTIU soldiers- and set off to find Wesker and the HCF, in an effort to stop them before they could become another Umbrella Corporation.  
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[not part of the story]  
  
Well, at long last, the RE survivors have reunited. I hope everyone is enjoying the story so far, and that you all stick with me. I plan to have more death-traps, and more action. Hopefully, the story's been as character-driven as I'd hoped. I plan to have a romance start between Rebecca and Carlos (or Billy). There will be more action as the story nears the climax. I hope it all continues to go well. I have an idea for a sequel to this (sort of), which takes place about 20-25 years later, featuring the children of these characters. Let me know what you think, and please, keep the reviews coming. 


	21. Divide and Conquer

Sorry for the lack of updates. I haven't been able to get on the computer lately.   
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Chapter 20: Divide and Conquer  
  
Chris, Ada, Jill, Leon, Claire, Rebecca, Billy, Barry, Carlos, and Hunk had reached the separation point in Sector 7.   
Ada led Team Delta. Her team would be heading toward the facility from which Barry, Billy, Rebecca and Sherry had escaped. The team consisted of: Ada, Leon, Rebecca, Jill, and Billy. The other team, led by Chris, was called Team Omega. They were heading for the resort on the island, in hopes of finding a secret entrance to the Umbrella labs, that were now being controlled by Wesker's HCF. Team Omega consisted of: Chris, Claire, Carlos, Hunk, and Barry. The whole party had taken the stolen jeep to the separation spot, and everyone made sure they were well equipped. Ada was armed with a pair of Uzis; Leon had his Desert Eagle; Rebecca had a pair of MP-100s; Jill had an M-39 grenade launcher with incendiary shells; and Billy had a sawed-off Remington. Team Omega was also well-armed. Chris had his customized Glock-17, Claire carried a pair of customized Lugers (in memory of Steve Burnside), Carlos had an AK-47, Hunk carried a .44 magnum, and Barry had his custom .357 Colt Python. Everyone made certain to bring plenty of extra ammo, first aid kits, and all of them wore standard issue kevlar vests, as well as some of their own personal touches and accessories. All the weapons had been stored in the weapons tent back at base camp.   
  
"Okay everyone...," said Ada, "...this is it. You all know what to do. Odds are, Wesker will be expecting us. He undoubtedly knows that most of Umbrella's cameras have been disabled, which explains the attack at basecamp. Most of the way should be clear, but stay on your guard. The kids should be safe enough at basecamp. There's enough soldiers and guards to keep them protected until we return. Use your radio if necessary, but only when necessary." After the briefing, both teams went their separate ways, but somehow they knew, this was the last time that everyone would see each other alive.  
  
"Those imbeciles should've reported in by now." Wesker was growing impatient. He just knew that several well-trained soldiers, and two tiger-hunters should've decimated the enemy by now. But without the surveillance system operating, he had no idea what was going on. Something must've gone terribly wrong. Perhaps he had underestimated his enemies. But he would not make the same mistake twice. "As the saying goes..." he thought, "If you want something done right, you've got to do it yourself." With that thought, he headed out of the complex, and headed toward Sector 10. He knew a secret way through a series of caves, that would get him to his destination undetected. With his enhanced speed and endurance, he could make the trek in less than an hour, and God help those who are there, because he was in a very, very bad mood, and he was itching for a fight.  
  
Team Delta were approaching the spot where Rebecca, Billy, Barry, and Sherry had met an unhappy arachnid. Rebecca was the first to notice the scattered rocks. "Uh, guys?" "What is it Becky?" Leon asked. "We're about to have company!" At that very moment, the armored arachnid had made a return appearance. "I can't believe that thing is still alive!" shouted Billy, and next thing he knew, a strand of steel-like webbing wrapped around his ankle, pulling his feet out from under him, and he fell, his head slamming hard into the ground.  
  
Team Omega had been following the trail leading to the resort. Suddenly they found themselves in the midst of a zombie feeding frenzy, and they were about to become the main course. "I'm getting too old for this shit!" exclaimed Barry. "Yeah, you and me both!" replied Chris. And they all opened fire. 


	22. Spiders, Zombies, and Wesker, Oh My!

Chapter 21: Spiders, Zombies, and Wesker, Oh My!  
  
Annie, David, and Sherry were in the mess tent enjoying the first decent meal they'd had since this all began. They swapped stories about all of their ordeals, and came to realize -perhaps for the first time- that they had much in common. "So...you're parents were killed by Umbrella as well, huh?" David's question to Sherry was more of a statement. "Yeah, how'd you know?" Annie answered for her brother, "Claire told us." "You said 'as well,' does that mean they got your's too?" Sherry asked. "Yeah," said David, "Our parents worked for them, but Umbrella tried to use us in their experiments, and our parents saved us, getting killed in the process." "Well...," said Sherry, "...at least your parents actually cared about you, mine were too busy with their work. They never made time for me. I was always being taken care of by baby-sitters, who had nothing better to do with themselves but talk on the phone, or watch TV. I learned to rely on myself, but I never got to do the things other kids did. I was all alone at the Raccoon Police Station when I met Claire. She took very good care of me, and for the first time in my life, I was able to rely on someone else."   
"You really care about Claire, don't you Sherry?" "Yes, I do. She never talked down to me, she treated me as an equal, even though she was seven years older. She really knew how to handle herself. She was like a big sister to me." "Yeah," said David, "She was very good to me when Annie and Leon had been swept downriver. I thought Annie was dead for sure, because she can't swim. Claire assured me that everything would be okay, but I could tell she was just as worried as I was, especially for Leon." "Awww, you really do care about me big brother," teased Annie, who decided to take the opportunity to catch David off-guard for once. "Yeah, I do," David responded, seemingly unaffected by his little sister's teasing. "I promised to take care of you, and I will."  
"Leon is also a good person to have around," said Sherry, changing the subject. "When Claire went off to find her brother, a government agent wanted to put me in some sort of program, but Leon took me away, and he took care of me for about a month. He was just as much a big brother to me, as Claire was a big sister. He helped me with schoolwork, made sure I ate right, and taught me to swim. But then he found out I had an aunt I'd never met, and he personally took me to be with her. She treated me very well, but she was killed by some HCF guy, who brought me here to this island." Suddenly, an unwelcome guest burst into the tent. "Talking about me are you, Little Miss Birkin?" Sherry recognized Wesker immediately, and screamed.   
  
Meanwhile, Team Delta had problems of their own...  
A well placed shot from Jill's grenade launcher snapped the webbing that was wrapped around Billy's ankle. Rebecca ran over to him to check his vitals. He was unconscious from the blow to his head, but he would live. Ada, Leon and Jill continued to fire at the hulking arachnid. "It's exoskeleton is too strong!!" shouted Rebecca. "That means we need to figure out a way to upend it, so that we can shoot at the soft underside." "Great idea Ada," said Leon, "But how do you propose we do that?" Jill chimed in with her own idea, "Maybe, if we aim for it's front legs, it will rear up, exposing it's stomach." "That just might work," said Ada. Jill fired about three napalm grenades that landed in front of the beast, but it was enough. The huge spider reared up, giving crackshot Leon enough time to land a couple magnum rounds, planting the spider on it's back. "Just like a turtle," said Jill, as she shot the spider's underbelly with a grenade, incinerating it. "Hmm..." said Ada, "Got any marshmallows?"   
"C'mon Billy, wake up! You're tougher than this, and we've got a job to do," said Rebecca, obviously worried about the ex-Marine. "Is he gonna make it?" Leon asked, as he and the other two came over to where Rebecca and Billy were. "Yeah, but the longer he's out, the better chance he could have a concussion, or worse." The others looked at Rebecca, and could tell by the tone of her voice that there may be more to this than just friendly concern. Just then, Billy began to wake. "Uhn..." he moaned, "Did we win?" "Thank goodness," said a relieved Rebecca, "We thought we'd lost you Mr. Coen." Billy smiled, "You can't get rid of me that easily doc, and that's Lieutenant Coen to you, rookie." Now it was her turn to smile, "Yes sir!" Leon playfully rolled his eyes, and said "Geez, who needs weapons? These two could send Wesker into diabetic shock!" Rebecca turned beet red, "Ahem, that's enough out of you Kennedy." Leon extended his arm to help Billy up, and they all continued their trek.  
  
Chris and the rest of Team Omega had their hands full as well.   
"Do you think the others are having this much fun?" Barry jokingly shouted over the gunfire. "They couldn't have this much fun if they tried!" responded Chris, also in jest. "Well..." joked Claire, "I could do with a little less fun!" "Aye Carumba! Where did all these dead-heads come from?!" shouted Carlos, who was noticably wincing from the pain caused by his earlier injuries. "I don't care where they came from...," said Hunk, "...let's just send them back to Hell where they belong!" Just then, some new arrivals showed up, and started killing the other zombies. "SHIT!!" hollered Chris, "Crimson-Heads!" "What the hell is a crimson-head?" asked Hunk. "A crimson-head zombie is a mutated zombie that evolves from zombies who aren't burned to death, or decapitated!" Chris answered. "In other words, off with their heads!" shouted Barry, who was already doing just that. Carlos took out a few more, but didn't notice the one behind him. "CARLOS!!" Claire screamed, "LOOK OUT!!" but it was too late, a crimson-head took a bite out of the young merc's shoulder. "Aargh! Dammit!" screamed Carlos, who was suddenly attacked by the remaining horde of zombies. "CARLOS, NO!!" shouted Claire, who turned away from the gore-fest. With the last bit of his strength Carlos pulled a hand grenade from his vest and pulled the pin, shouting to the others, "GET DOWN!!" They listened, and as they dropped to the ground at a safe distance, they heard the last of Carlos' gurgled screams as the grenade went off, killing him and his attackers in one powerful blast.  
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Well, it looks like Wesker has found some hostages. But how did he get through the security? Find out next chapter. Also, the good guys have lost one of their own, through self-sacrifice, and as the Good Book says, "No greater love hath any man, than he who lay down his life for his friends." Something tells me that the good guys are gonna be looking for revenge. Please, keep reading and reviewing. 


	23. The Wrath of Albert Wesker

Chapter 22: The Wrath of Albert Wesker  
  
"AAAHH!!"   
Sherry was still screaming when Wesker snatched her up and covered her mouth. "Screaming will do you no good Sherry. You see, the baby-sitters are preoccupied as always. They're taking a nice long nap. The permanent kind." Wesker's red eyes glowed brightly under his dark glasses, as he smirked, thinking about the events of the past ten minutes:  
  
"Hey you, stop right there!" Wesker just looked at the soldier, and smiled, as he spoke to the stern mercenary, "And suppose I don't want to stop?" The merc looked at Wesker, taken aback by the blond man's audacity. "If you don't, I will be forced to shoot to kill."  
"I see...," said Wesker, not flinching, "...well then sir, I suppose it's SHOWTIME!" Wesker, moving with inhuman speed, snatched the man up by his collar, and threw him aside with very little effort. This alerted the other ten soldiers assigned to guard the children. They all aimed at the ex-S.T.A.R.S captain, who picked the man back up and used him as a human shield against the firing squad. "Aargh!" The soldier cried in agony as his body was riddled with bullets. His comrades stopped shooting, obviously in shock over what they had just done. Wesker took advantage of the distraction, and sped toward one of the other men. As he reached the merc, he twisted the man's arm behind his own back, breaking it with ease, and snatching the man's M-16, all in what seemed like one smooth motion. He then grabbed the man's head, and twisted it, snapping the man's neck with little trouble. He then began to fire on the soldiers, killing all but one. The one soldier Wesker hadn't seen, attacked him from behind, attempting to snap Wesker's neck. Wesker simply tossed the gun in the air, catching it by the rifle's stock, and thrust the front of the barrel into the man's midsection with enough force to push it out through the soldier's back. The sudden silence brought a smile to the virus enhanced madman, who stood there, surveying the damage he'd wrought. "Pitiful..." he spat, "So very sad, that this was all too easy."  
  
"Let her go psycho!" David's outburst snapped Wesker out of his daze. "Oh, and what will you do?" "THIS!!" David shouted, as he revealed a 9mm Berretta, and fired it, hitting Wesker in his leg. Wesker dropped Sherry, and grabbed at his leg. He quickly recovered, and glared at the boy. "Very brave, boy. But, also very foolish." He backhanded the 16-year-old, who landed hard on his head, and laid there, lifeless. "DAVID!!" cried Annie. "YOU KILLED HIM!!" shouted Sherry. "Oh, he'll live. You all are much more valuable to me alive. However, failure to cooperate will result in his death." The two young girls knew they were not strong enough to resist, so they nodded. Wesker scooped up David, putting the unconscious boy over his shoulder, and he and the girls headed back the way he had come. "What're you gonna do to us?" asked Sherry, obviously frightened. "Nothing..." Wesker replied, "...as long as you cooperate. You are my bait. Once Redfield and friends discover I have you, they will fall into my little trap, and I will destroy them." "You're sick, and depraved!" exclaimed Annie. "Yes, my dear, I am, but soon, I will be SICKeningly rich, and you and your friends will be nothing but memories." They continued walking in silence, and before they knew it, they had reached the facility.  
  
Chris, Claire, Hunk, and Barry slowly picked themselves back up, and Claire suddenly crumpled into her brother's arms, crying uncontrollably. Between sobs, she spoke, "Chris, why? Why did this have to happen?" Claire hadn't known Carlos very long, but she liked him. He was always upbeat, and optimistic. He was a true friend, something rare in this world, and just like that, he was gone. His self-sacrifice hit very close to home, as she began to remember Steve. Chris could only hold her, he had no words of wisdom, and no answers to give. He looked at Barry and Hunk, and Barry -who was very much a member of the family, maybe not by blood, but certainly in heart and spirit- walked over and hugged Claire as well. Hunk felt a little left out, but he could see how close they were, and he knew they had been through hell these past six or so months. He began to feel very bad, and very guilty. He had been a part of Umbrella, and was partly responsible -at least by association- for the tragedies he'd witnessed. He was suddenly more determined than ever to stop them. Although they weren't the enemy in this particular situation, Umbrella was at least partially responsible, and as such, they had to pay.  
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[Not part of the story]  
  
Finally! A chapter focused mainly on Wesker!! Is this guy a badass or what?! I also felt it was necessary to include reaction to Carlos' death. Don't worry, Team Delta will return, most likely in the next chapter. Also, as this story gets closer to climax, I will start posting brief character profiles for my next story, tentatively titled "Resident Evil: The New Blood" Apologies in advance to anyone who might already have a story with this title, but the title is still subject to change, and virtually all of the characters will be my own creations. 


	24. Hostile Territory

Chapter 23: Hostile Territory  
  
Team Delta had travelled for a while since their encounter with what Billy dubbed as Spider-zilla. Rebecca, Leon, Ada, Billy, and Jill had cleared their path of several zombies and a few of the wolf-things that Leon, Jill, Chris, and Claire had encountered a few days ago, after their arrival on the island. As they approached the Sector 5 entrance to the training area of the facility, Rebecca and Billy felt chills up and down their spines. "I never thought I'd ever see this place again." They all knew what Rebecca meant. She had told them all about the hunt that took place just recently, involving herself, Billy, Barry, Sherry, and those vile tiger-hunters. As they approached the gates, they noticed a code input device. It was different from the ones inside the guard towers. This one had a letter pad, and a clue, similar to the device used to enter the weapon storage. The inscription read:  
  
'All those who attempt to enter without authorization of the Founder shall descend into the very depths of Hell.'  
  
"What the hell does that mean?" asked Leon. "Well..." replied Ada, "...perhaps it has something to do with the fact that the word 'founder' is capitalized." Rebecca spoke up, "I guess the name of the founder of Umbrella is the password." "Yeah," said Jill, "but which founder? There were three of them. Ashford, Marcus, and Spencer." "Wait a minute!" said Billy, "it was mentioned on the way here, that this island was named after the Ashfords." "Right," said Rebecca, "Then we type in A-S-H-F-O-R-D." Rebecca spelled it out as she punched in the codeword. They heard a faint beeping, and the ground began to shake. "Oh boy...," said Leon, "I have a bad feeling about this." Suddenly the ground opened up beneath them and they were swallowed by the darkness.  
  
Meanwhile, Team Omega had regrouped, and made their way to the resort, and amazingly enough, it looked clear. "Well, looks like we have an easy job to do," said Hunk. "Don't count on it." Hunk glanced over at Chris and nodded in agreement, saying, "Yeah, if it looks this easy now, that only means we've got something to look forward to." The foursome moved in on the hotel, and as they entered the main lobby, they heard the all-too-familiar sound of dragged feet, and hungry moaning. Barry ran his hand along the wall to his left, and felt a switch, and flipped it up. As the lights blinked on, the team saw about six zombies roaming the lobby. The light alerted them, and they began to move toward the four remaining members of Team Omega.  
  
David slowly woke up, and found himself alone. He was in some sort of cell, and on the other side of it, he saw another cell built into the wall. Inside, he could see a tiger-hunter. The cell was obviously strong enough to hold the creature, but David had a feeling it wasn't going to stay locked up. Elsewhere, Annie was in a cage suspended over a huge water-tank, about fifteen feet deep, and rapidly filling with water. She had been told by Wesker that the cage's bottom dropped out at the touch of a button. She began to feel aquaphobic again, and muttered to herself, "Please don't drown me." Suddenly she thought of something, "There's no way he could've known I can't swim, so why would he put me in here." As if on cue, she heard the sound of something opening, and she saw the triangular shape of the one thing she feared more than water. As the mutant-sized dorsal fin of an overgrown, 35 foot Great White shark cut the surface, Annie screamed and began to pull at the bars of her cage in panic. She then heard Wesker's voice, coming from an unseen speaker, "I wouldn't do that if I were you. The force of your pulling, and shaking could cause the bottom of your cage to drop out prematurely, and that would be tragic." She stopped, and dropped to the cage floor, crying. Meanwhile, Sherry was in some sort of strange room. There were no bars, or windows. She could see air vents along the upper area of the leftside wall, and there was a door that she assumed was locked. Suddenly, a panel slid open revealing a cage about six feet high, and in the cage stood something she'd never seen before, it resembled a skinned gorilla, but was reptilian in overall appearance. The S.T.A.R.S members would've recognized it as a Hunter.  
  
SPLOOSH!!  
Team Delta landed in a murky pool, about eight feet deep. They all swam to the side and climbed out, but one of them was missing.  
"Where's Rebecca?" asked Billy. Suddenly they heard splashing, and Rebecca's voice rung out, "HELP!!...My leg...something's got...my leg!" she sputtered, as she struggled to break free of the mysterious grip, swallowing brackish water in the process. Leon and Billy didn't hesitate. The dove in and swam toward the young medic. As they dove under, they lit up the waterproof, and unusually powerful pen lights on their vests. Underwater, they saw a thick tentacle wrapped around Rebecca's ankle, holding her below the surface. Rebecca continued to struggle against it's strength, barely reaching the surface for a quick gasp of air before being dragged under again. Suddenly the tentacle convulsed, and released it's hold on the young woman. Billy swam over to Rebecca, who was still too weak from her struggle, and on the verge of drowning for sure. He grabbed her, and helped her swim to the side, where Ada helped her out. Suddenly they noticed the place was lit up. Then they looked and saw why. The thing that had Rebecca in it's grasp was a huge mutated plant, and it was being fried by Jill's napalm grenades. Rebecca continued coughing and gasping, but she was okay. "I hate plants!" exclaimed Rebecca, making the others chuckle a little. It was then that they noticed they had landed in some sort of underground cavern. However, on the far side of the cavern they saw a door, and they headed toward it, not really wanting to meet what was on the other side. 


	25. Welcome To Hell

Chapter 24: Welcome To Hell  
  
As Team Delta neared the exit of the cavern, they noticed an inscription on the wall to the left of the door. It read:  
  
'All who enter here, will face Hell's Gauntlet.'   
  
"Doesn't Umbrella ever get tired of this cryptic bull-crap!" asked Rebecca. Leon took the light off of his vest, and attached it to the bottom of his Desert Eagle. Billy attached a specially designed infrared scope to his remington. Ada, Jill, and Rebecca all made sure they reloaded their weapons as well. They all stood and watched as Leon began to spruce up his Desert Eagle. He took his customizing kit out of the front pocket of his black vest. They knew what Leon was doing. Jill and Rebecca had seen him do it many times, and it still made them smile. Leon replaced the standard six inch barrel of his Desert Eagle with the customized ten inch barrel, extending his magnum to a power-pulsing fourteen-plus inches in total length. Billy had been around guns for his entire military career, and it still made him well-up with pride seeing the finished product. Many of his comrades-in-arms favored the Desert Eagle, but this was the first time he'd ever seen it used so efficiently by a cop, especially an ex-rookie cop. Ada couldn't resist a little flirtatious teasing of the young ex-cop, "Ooh, I just love a man with a big gun!" If the light had been on her, they would have seen Rebecca's 18-year-old, but child-like face turn a very deep shade of red, as the usually shy medic tried to hide it as she spoke, "Ahem...well...uh...are we...uh...ready?" They went through the door, and what they found would've turned most people's stomachs.  
  
Team Omega quickly dispatched the zombies in the main lobby of the hotel, and headed up to the second floor of the building. As they reached the top of stairs, Hunk heard something, cocking his head as if trying to hear it better. Suddenly they all heard it. Something, or things, were moving through the air ducts. Suddenly, a black creature, about the size of a small person, pounced on Barry's back, attempting to bite at his neck. "CHIMERAS!" hollered Chris, and on cue, four more appeared, having broken through the air vent coverings. Barry pulled his knife from the sheath he had attached to his vest, and stabbed the monster through it's neck before it could do anything. Another one charged Claire, who quickly dodged, and it's momentum carried it until it crashed into one of it's partners. Hunk took advantage of the situation, killing both with one shot from his .44 magnum, the discharged bullet traveling through one creature's small head, and then hitting the other in it's head as well. Chris and Barry killed the last two.  
"Are you okay Barry?" asked Claire. "Yeah, it didn't do any damage. It didn't get the chance." They continued down the second floor hall, checking many of the rooms along the way, but they found nothing of interest. Eventually they came to an elevator, but it only went to the third floor. "Well...," said Claire, "...I take it we're going up then." "Yeah," said Chris, and they pushed the button.  
  
Rebecca was unable to resist the urge to throw-up as she and Team Delta saw what looked like some sort of reject dumping chamber. Skeletons, partially and severely decayed bodies, as well as several rotted organs -human and animal alike- were strewn unceremoniously around the large chamber. Amidst the remains, Billy found a diary containing a letter or a file of some kind.  
  
May 1998  
I don't know what the hell these people want with me. I followed their orders to the T, and this is how they repay me? They lock me up in some sort of frickin' lab cage, like a guinea pig. I wish I hadn't done their dirty work. This was supposed to be easy money! Blood money, to be sure, but with a family to take care of, I felt I didn't have a choice. "Go to this little village, and get us some subjects for our experiments, then cover it up." But things got complicated. Lt. Billy Coen had a fight with his conscience, and lost. "STOP!" he says, "This isn't right!" he tells me. I nailed him with my gun to shut him up. So then, these people come to clean up our mess, and set Billy up to take the fall. I didn't want to do it, but they threatened my life, and my family's lives. May God have mercy on my soul for letting it go so far, and I hope to God Billy can forgive me in time. He was one of my best men.  
  
July 1998  
They injected me with some sort of drug today. They said it would help me to stay calm at the courtmarshall hearing. But somehow, I can't shake the feeling that I won't make it to that trial. I've been in this hellhole for damn near two months now, and other people keep coming and going. The guards keep changing too. I don't think I've ever held a conversation with the same guard twice. Dammit, I hear someone coming. If they read this, I'm a dead man, if I'm not one already.  
  
April 22, 1998  
To Sergeant William Davis,  
I expect you to be in my office first thing in the morning, so that we can discuss next week's mission. I trust you have your men ready? The details of your payment, as well as that of your men, will be discussed in full at the debriefing. The location has been decided upon, as well as the job at hand. You and your men will be expected to follow the orders accordingly, otherwise you will be the ones to pay the price. I assure you, you will be payed rather handsomely for this deed. Be sure to rest well, you will be traveling far. I will be expecting you at 0600 hours. Make sure you have all your best men, this is not going to be a cakewalk.  
Albert Wesker  
  
"That sonuvabitch, he set us up, he set me up!" Rebecca looked at Billy. "Billy? What's wrong?" she asked. "Here, read this. It explains alot." Billy handed her the papers, and Leon offered his light. After reading it, Rebecca went to Billy's side, to offer support. "Why?" she asked, "Why would anyone do this? I...I can't believe this man was once an honored member of S.T.A.R.S." Billy looked at her and responded, "I don't know why, I don't even care why, I just want him to pay." Suddenly, they heard what sounded like a deep, gruff, unnatural voice. It uttered one word, heard loudly, and clearly by all: "D...E...S...T...R...O...Y!!" 


	26. The Gauntlet Begins

Chapter 25: The Gauntlet Begins  
  
"D...E...S...T...R...O...Y!" The unseen creature repeated. "What the hell was that?" asked Leon, but before anyone could answer, it made it's appearance. "NO! It can't be?!" said Jill as the creature came into view. Jill recognized it as the Nemesis tyrant, but it was different. It didn't take long for her to realize this one was a new specimen. It was at least eight feet tall, and obviously built for power. It was also more human-like in it's features. There was no huge scar that forced it's eye closed, and thankfully, there was no rocket launcher. Billy noticed something strange about it. At the base of it's massive neck, there was something shining. It looked like dogtags, but there was no chain. The pendant, dogtags, or whatever the hell it was, had been imbedded in it's skin, almost as if the mass of the creature formed around it. "You know what that thing is Jill?" asked Leon. "Yes, it's called a Nemesis Tyrant." "You mean, like the one you told us about, from Raccoon?" asked Rebecca. "Yes," responded Jill, "but this one looks less dangerous!" She realized the next second, that she may have been wrong in that assumption, as the hulking beast ripped a large piece of metal from the wall of the chamber, and began swinging it, once again uttering "Destroy!" Ada was the first one to open fire, but the shots from her twin Uzis only ricocheted off of the steel beam, as the Nemesis used it as a shield. "Oh shit! This thing has advanced intelligence!" Jill shouted, as Leon unloaded three shots from his magnum, but it only staggered a little. The beast swung at the quintet, and they all narrowly dodged the blow. Billy aimed up at it's head with his Remington and fired, but it covered it's face with it's massive arms, and roared in pain as the 32 gauge shells ripped into the flesh of it's forearms, and it swung the beam at Billy, who was able to dodge again. Jill fired a napalm grenade, and lit it on fire. Again it roared at the pain, but it faltered, going down to one knee. But instead of falling, it looked up at it's assailants, and to their surprise, and dismay, it threw it's shoulders back, and it's head up. As it did this, four tentacles ripped out of it's massive chest, and two more from it's forearms. "Oh my God, the bastard's mutating!" shouted Ada. "Ada, watch out!" shouted Leon, but she didn't dodge fast enough, as a single tentacle pierced her shoulder.  
  
While team Delta battled for their lives, team Omega were entering the third floor of the hotel. They exitted the elevator, and to their surprise, the corridor was empty. "Well...," said Chris, "...let's start checking rooms for clues. We'll split up in pairs. It looks as though there's about twenty rooms up here. Claire and I will check one side. Barry and Hunk, you guys have the other." "Sounds good to me." said Hunk, as they began their search. As they searched the rooms, they were unaware of the cameras following their every move.  
  
"Good boy Redfield, you always were my best man. One more room, and I will have you where I want you, over a barrel." Wesker chuckled menacingly as he watched the monitors. He glanced briefly at the split screen monitor to his left, and was rather pleased to see his young captives still sitting in their customized rooms, feeling hopeless, completely aware of the fates that awaited them.  
He turned his attention to a third monitor, and watched as Leon, Ada, Jill, Rebecca, and Billy battled against the Nemesis. "My, my, it appears as though you've been wounded Miss Wong, or is that Johnson now? You thought you could hide under an assumed name, but unfortunately for you, you thought wrong. Fear not, it's only a matter of time before your friends join you, as you face the inevitable: death and transformation."  
  
"DESTROY!" The nemesis continued to lash out with it's tentacles. "I'm getting real tired of your mouth pal!" shouted Billy as he began to fire at the creature's tentacles, hoping that he would be able to amputate them with gunfire, but it wasn't working. Jill caught on to his idea, and fired her grenades. She hit the monster's arms, and the forearm tentacles began to burn off. "Leon!" she shouted, "Aim for it's chest cavity, the hole where it's tentacles extend from!" She fired a napalm grenade at it's chest, and the tentacles from it's chest also began to burn off. The monster roared in pain, and having dropped it's weapon, it was lashing out with it's arms and clawed hands. The beast finally succumbed to the bombardment, and fell, but it wasn't quite dead yet. Jill shouted, "Leon, Billy, take it out now, before it starts mutating again!" Leon and Billy aimed their powerful weapons at it's head. "DESTROY THIS, FREAK!" said Leon, as he and Billy fired, taking off half of it's head.  
  
Billy looked at the metal, chainless necklace, and noticed the inscription that read: Sgt. William Davis, U.S. Marine Corps. "Those psychotic bastards. Sgt. Davis became one of their experiments. They must have injected him with a virus." "No," said Ada, still in pain. "He was put into an induced coma. They wanted to use him at a later date. After Hunk returned his sample of the G-virus to Umbrella, they began to work on experiments combining the three viruses. The G-virus, the T-virus, and the T-Veronica virus. Unlike the T-virus, the hosts had to be alive, as it interacted with DNA, slowly mutating them. They codenamed it the U-virus, or Ultimate Virus. Hunk's family were among the first people exposed to it, which is why he left Umbrella and joined us." Leon looked at Ada, and asked her, "Why didn't you tell us this before now?" "Because, we thought we were here to stop the HCF and Wesker. I didn't realize until now, that Umbrella had brought him here." Leon looked at her, and noticed that she was growing pale.   
  
"Leon, I'm infected now. The tentacles were injectors. You have to kill me, before I turn. My guns are empty, I can't do it. Leon, I want you to know... I'm happy for you and Claire, but I lied back at base, I've never moved on, because I never stopped loving you." Jill's and Rebecca's eyes were beginning to well-up as Leon spoke to them and Billy, "You guys go ahead, I'll catch up." Rebecca and Jill were concerned about their good friend, but they did as he asked. As they went through the door to the next area, they heard the explosive discharge of Leon's Desert Eagle, and they knew Ada was gone.  
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Whew! That was a long one! Well, Ada has joined Carlos in RE heaven, so that's two down. And what does Wesker mean about having Chris where he wants him? Keep reading and find out. Please, get those reviews started up again. There's only a few chapters left, so don't leave me now. 


	27. Trapped!

Chapter 26: Trapped!  
  
As Barry and Hunk continued their search on the even-numbered side of the third floor of the hotel, Chris and Claire were searching the last room of the odd-numbered side. "What's up with that?" asked Chris, as he tried to open the door to room 319. "What's up with what, Chris?" Claire asked. Chris responded, "This room is locked. None of the others are, so what's so special about this one?"  
"Well, big brother, let's just find out." Claire pulled out a set of lockpicks, and expertly used them on the door. Chris looked at his sister, as if to ask how she learned that. Sensing his slight confusion, Claire answered the unasked question, "Jill taught me." Chris said, "Oh. But, uh... should I be worried?" "Don't worry big bro', you won't have to arrest me anytime soon." Claire responded with a wink.  
  
Leon sat there for a couple minutes, looking down at Ada's dead body. "I'm sorry...," he whispered, and for the second time he uttered the words, "Goodbye, Ada." But he knew it was for good this time. A short time later, Jill came rushing back from the next area, hollering, "Leon! Move your ass! We've got company!" Leon snapped out of it, and immediately ran to rejoin the rest of Team Delta. As he and Jill joined Rebecca and Billy, they noticed they weren't alone. There were about four lickers guarding the other door, they looked like the B-class lickers from the labs under Raccoon City. "Aim for the exposed brains!" shouted Leon, as one of the monsters took a flying leap toward Rebecca. Rebecca fired and hit it. She missed the head, but she managed to send it flying backwards. However, that wasn't enough, as the agile creature landed on all fours, and let out a loud gasping shriek. It whipped out it's long tongue, barely missing the former S.T.A.R.S medic, who took more careful aim, and hit the creature in the exposed brain, splattering it several feet in every direction. Jill fired a grenade at one, knocking it back into the others, igniting them on fire as well. Not content to watch the lickers burn to death, Leon and Billy walked up near them, and shot them in their heads, killing them.  
  
Barry and Hunk were searching room 318, when Hunk found something. "Hey Barry, check this out, it's a file of some kind."  
  
June 1998  
That fool Wesker thinks he is invaluable because we gave him an injection of our prototype virus. What he doesn't realize is the virus we injected into his system will have dire long-term effects. In the early stages, it will give him superhuman strength and speed, and it's true that he will be impervious to most physical attacks, but eventually it will begin to break him down at the cellular level. After an indeterminable amount of time, the virus will destroy him. He thinks he's using us, but in truth, he's the one being used. His animosity toward his former employers gave us the edge we needed in our battle to become the top Bio-genetics research company.  
However, he could still be a threat. After much researching and studying, we have discovered an anti-toxin that completely counteracts the effects of our 'M-Virus' or Molecular Virus (aka Mother Virus). If he were to discover this, he might try to get some measure of revenge.  
Dr. Nathan Jones  
Head Researcher, HCF  
  
Barry looked at Hunk and said, "C'mon, We need to show this to Chris." At that moment they heard Claire scream from across the hall. They immediately began to run toward the other side of the hall.  
  
"Chris! Help Me!" Chris called out to his sister, who was being held from behind by an HCF soldier, "Claire!... Let her go dammit!"  
Chris wanted to shoot the hired gun, but he noticed the man had some sort of bomb attached to his vest. Chris knew if he shot the guy, the explosion would kill all three of them. "Here's a little gift from my boss, Mr. Redfield." The guy threw a flash grenade at Chris, and jumped out the third story window, with Claire. As Barry and Hunk reached the door, Chris jumped out, tackling the two of them to the floor, as the grenade went off. "What the hell was that?!" asked Barry, as the three men got back up. "Wesker's got Claire!" said Chris, and explained what had happened. "Well, we found something that might cheer you up, just a little." Barry told Chris as he handed him the file they'd found.  
  
After their battle against the lickers, Team Delta entered another gore-infested chamber. There were no enemies, but they suddenly heard the door behind them lock, and as they moved forward, there was the distant sound of machinery coming to life. As they looked around the room, they noticed it was getting smaller. "The walls are closing in!" The rest of the team looked at Leon, and realized he was right.  
  
Claire woke up, and immediately noticed that her hands had been chained above her head. She only felt air beneath her feet, and realized she was hanging. As her eyes adjusted, and began to focus, she could see that she had been stripped down to her undergarments, and that she was in some sort of tubular case. Just then, she heard Wesker's voice. "Hello, Miss Redfield. Nice to see you again." She gave him a disgusted look, and asked, "What have you done to me you sick freak? Where's Chris?!"   
"Patience Miss Redfield, all will be revealed in time. As far as your brother goes, he will find you soon enough." Claire spat back at him, "Yeah, and then he will kick your ass, him and our friends will have your hide!" "Somehow I doubt that, because as you can see..." Wesker drew her attention to the monitors, "They are all a little busy. And when your brother gets here, he will bear witness to the first test of the U-Virus, which has been completed. You see, your chamber will slowly begin to fill with water. But, don't worry about drowning my dear. The water that you will inevitably begin to breathe in, and choke on, has been treated with the new virus. And as it enters your system via consumption, you will become the Ultimate bioweapon, and as such, you will help me finish off the last of the S.T.A.R.S." Claire looked at the monitors. She could see the rooms housing the kids, and Team Delta's predicament, and watched as her brother, Barry, and Hunk frantically tried to find the existence of the secret passage to the labs that was suggested by Ada, but not confirmed. She kept watching, and Wesker watched the monitors with her, wearing an evil smirk that made her blood boil, but there was nothing she could do. 


	28. The Beginning of the End

Chapter 27: The Beginning of the End  
  
Chris, Barry, and Hunk made their way back down to the first floor of the hotel, where they encountered several more of the undead. The dozen or so zombies that had replaced the ones destroyed by Team Omega earlier, were no match for the two former S.T.A.R.S and the ex-Umbrella agent, as one by one their heads were blown apart by the powerful weapons of the three renegades. Finally, they found an unusually hollow section of the first floor walls. Barry kicked a hole in the wall, and realizing it was only sheetrock, the three of them began to pull it away, exposing a small foyer. At the other end was a hidden elevator, and a notice on the wall that read:  
  
The key to the freight elevator will be kept in a safe in the office. It can only be used by authorized members of the hotel staff.  
The combination to the safe is hidden in a secret compartment, located somewhere in the office.  
  
"Well...," said Barry, "looks like we need to check-in." "Right," agreed Chris, "Let's go." As they exited the hidden area, they noticed that the section of the wall they'd broken through would have risen into the ceiling. They reached the main office, but it was locked. "No problem," said Hunk, and he blew the lock out with his .44, and they went inside to begin searching.  
  
Rebecca fought back the panic, as she and the others frantically searched for something to slow down the walls that were closing in on them. Jill was the first to notice the passcode mechanism on the door of the chamber. "Look, there's another code protected lock." They approached it and noticed an inscription similar to the one on the surface. It read:  
  
Only the word of the Founder will set you free.  
  
"Here we go again." said Rebecca, but this time she noticed something different. This keypad had a period key, and it clicked, "That's it! The founders of Umbrella were the Spencers, Ashfords, and James Marcus. The password is an anagram. S for Spencer, period; A for Ashford, period; and M for Marcus. S.A.M." The lock clicked, and the walls began to slide back into position as the door opened into a bright, white hallway with shiny, silver trim. "We're in! Great job Becky!" exclaimed Jill. "Yeah," said Billy, "Not only did you save all our asses, you got us into the facility. If I thought the time was right, I might pick your little body up and kiss you." "Yeah?" asked Rebecca, slightly blushing, "Well, why don't you soldier?!" "Yes Sir!" said Billy, and he did just what he said he'd do. As Billy and Rebecca enjoyed their moment, Leon looked back to the entrance, and hung his head. Jill went over to him. "Hey, Leon, you did what you had to do. Ada knew that." Jill gave Leon a friendly, comforting hug, and Rebecca joined them and also offered a hug. Billy offered his hand, and Leon shook it, as Billy patted him on the back. "Thanks. Now, let's go get this bastard!" And they headed down the bright hallway.  
  
"SECURITY BREACH! SECURITY BREACH!" Wesker looked at his monitors, and saw that the remaining members of Team Delta had entered the labs. "NO! This was not part of the plan. Only Redfield and Burton were supposed to make it!" Claire couldn't resist the temptation to smile a little. "What's the matter? Did you underestimate my friends? I can't wait to see them kick your ass!"   
"I will show you, Miss Redfield, the meaning of kicking ass!" He flipped a switch and walked out of the room. Claire heard the sound of water splashing and looked down. "NO!!" she screamed, as she saw the virus-laden liquid begin to fill up her chamber. It would only take twenty or thirty minutes before the water would reach her nose and mouth, and although she was a decent swimmer, holding her breath had never been her specialty.  
  
Meanwhile, Chris, Barry, and Hunk had found what they needed, and were leaving the freight elevator. They had gone down a long way, and they were in a short tunnel. They could see a pair of double-doors at the other end and headed toward them. "When we get in there, I want you two to look for samples of that anti-virus. It's the only chance we'll have of stopping Wesker. I'll look for my sister. Hopefully the others have made their way in by now, and if you run into them, let them know what happened to Carlos and Claire." Hunk and Barry looked at Chris and nodded their heads in agreement with his plan. As the three of them entered the facility, they split up, hoping this wouldn't be the last time they'd see each other. 


	29. Face to Face

Chapter 28: Face to Face  
  
As Leon and the rest of Team Delta began searching for Wesker's whereabouts, Wesker was on his way to meet them. In the meantime, Claire watched nervously as the water in her chamber reached her knees. It was rising much faster than anticipated, or so it seemed. She kept looking in the monitors, hoping to see Chris and Team Omega. She truly feared that she would meet her death at the hands of her own brother after becoming the newest tyrant creature, but mostly she feared that she wouldn't be strong enough to fight the urge to kill once she was turned. She began to remember Steve's final moments, as he bravely found the strength to keep himself from killing her. "Oh, Steve," she began saying to herself, "I hope when the time comes, I can be as strong as you were."  
  
Meanwhile, Chris knew he had to find his sister, and fast. After splitting from Hunk and Barry, he decided to give himself up, or at least pretend to do so. As Wesker prepared to enter the area containing Team Delta, a call came over his radio. "Commander Wesker, sir. We have found Chris Redfield. He has turned himself over to us. Do you read?" Suddenly, Wesker changed his plans. "It's highly unlikely that Redfield would give up this easily," he thought. He then responded to the caller, "Very well, put him in the cell in the room with his sister, I will be there momentarily."  
  
The HCF soldier took Chris to the room as ordered. "CHRIS!!" called Claire, as they entered the room. "CLAIRE!!" he responded, and he quickly turned the tide on his captor, ramming the HCF merc into the wall. When Chris finally noticed his sister's state of undress, he immediately thought the worst. "My God, what did these sick bastards do to you?" "Nothing Chris, but you have to get me out of here, the water coming in is laced with the HCF's new virus, and if the water rises high enough...Chris, you know I've never been good at holding my breath underwater...and if I start to breathe in and swallow the water, I will..." "She will become the ultimate bio-weapon!" Wesker interrupted her as he walked through the door. "Hello Chris. It's been too long."  
  
Hunk and Barry continued their search for the anti-virus. Unfortunately, they had no idea what the cure would be called. They were coming to a corner, when suddenly, they were being fired at. "Oh hell!" exclaimed Barry, as two soldiers appeared from around the corner ahead. Hunk and Barry jumped to opposite sides of the hall, taking cover in doorways. They had been ambushed, and with machine guns being fired at them, it would be hard for them to get good aim with their magnums. Just then, they heard the sound of other guns being fired, and the machine guns stopped. As they dared to peak out of their cover spots, they saw the two soldiers lying on the floor, dead. Then, from around the corner they saw Leon, Jill, Billy, and Rebecca, and smoke was still coming out of Billy's and Rebecca's guns. It didn't take long to realize that Ada was no longer with them. "Where's Chris?" Asked Jill. "He's around here somewhere, trying to find Claire." Barry answered. Before long, the two teams gave each other all the information they'd found. "Alright," said Leon, "I'm going to find Chris and Claire, they may need some help. In the meantime, you all go see if you can find that anti-virus. Stick together, there's bound to be more HCF guys around." "Wait a minute, Leon, I'm coming with you," said Billy. Jill jumped in and said, "Me too." Leon understood that they had their reasons, and nodded in agreement. "Okay then, Barry and Hunk, you guys go with Becky to provide backup, you're gonna need her expertise with chemicals to find that anti-virus."  
  
Chris was through talking, he went after Wesker with a vengeance. "You're gonna pay for everything, you sonuvabitch!" A hard right took Wesker by surprise, and knocked off his dark sunglasses, revealing his glowing red eyes. "You're a fool Redfield! I am far too powerful an enemy!" Wesker dodged a second blow, and nailed Chris in the gut with a hard left, knocking the wind out of him. As Claire watched helplessly, the water in her glass prison was rising up to her chest. She tried to pull herself up on her chain-hook, but she was too weak from hanging so long. Wesker grabbed the back of Chris's head, and slammed his face hard into the monitor desk. It was then that Chris first noticed that Wesker had somehow gotten the kids. "Quite the predicament, eh, Redfield? You came here to rescue your dear little sister, but, you had no idea that you were sacrificing the lives of innocent children." "You bastard!" said Chris, still feeling the effects of Wesker's powerful punch. As Chris was thrown back against the wall, barely conscious, he saw Wesker push a couple of buttons, and he heard the kids scream, as their would-be killers were set free, and on one monitor that he could see, there was the image of Annie dropping through the bottom of her cage, and catching on to the bottom row of bars in an attempt to stop herself from falling into the shark tank below. Just then, he heard Claire call his name, "Chris, please hurry." she cried, and managed to get one deep breath, just before the water rose over her head. 


	30. Rescue Mission

Chapter 29: Rescue Mission  
  
Chris felt incredibly helpless. As he tried to regain his breath, he watched as Claire's head sank below the surface of the rising, virus-laced water. Wesker was feeling good. He had his archenemy in his grasp, and over a barrel. There was nothing Chris could do. In a matter of moments, Claire would begin to drown in the tank, which would lead to her transformation into the ultimate creation. The kids - David, Annie, and Sherry- were only moments away from becoming food for the last three Umbrella creations on the island. Wesker's revenge was finally complete.  
  
Hunk, Rebecca, and Barry continued their search for the antidote to Wesker's virus. Suddenly they heard what sounded like a child's scream coming from a room several doors down the hall. "Huh? What the hell was that? asked Barry. "AAHH!" They heard it again, and rushed toward it. Sherry was screaming as she dodged the hunter's first two attacks. She knew she couldn't hold it off for long. Then, she heard the sound of a magnum, as it blew a hole in the door , destroying the lock. Hunk, Barry, and Rebecca entered the room, and destroyed the hunter. Rebecca ran to the frightened girl, "Sherry, what're you doing here?" Sherry answered, "That Wesker guy. He came to the camp, and killed everyone. He brought us here, and he said he was going to use us for bait." "Dammit...," exclaimed Hunk, "...that means he knows were here. He must've planned to lure us into a trap." "Maybe," said Barry, "But he couldn't have expected us to get here this soon." At that moment, they finally noticed Sherry was alone. "Sherry?" asked Rebecca, "Where are David and Annie?" "I...I don't know." "Okay, we need to split up." said Barry, "Hunk, you and Rebecca keep searching for the anti-virus, and take Sherry with you. I'll try to find the other kids." They split up and began their search.  
  
The tiger-hunter was stalking David, and poised for an attack. It began it's charge, but David barely managed to dodge it, and it crashed into the cell wall, exposing a bunch of wires that were supplying power to the electronic locks. Ever resourceful, David had an idea. He ran past the creature, which was still dazed from it's crash into the steel wall. David had learned to "pick" a few computerized locks, and decided he could override the system and unlock the cell door. The tiger-hunter regained its senses and charged at the teenager again, pinning him against the wall. But David was in the right spot, and had already detached two wires. He took a risk, and inserted the wires into the creatures mouth. As the tiger-hunter was being electrocuted, the cell door opened up, and David escaped. About halfway down the hall, he heard his sister's screams. "ANNIE! I'm coming!"  
  
Annie had barely managed to climb up the cage, so that her feet rested on the lower row of bars, but she was losing her grip fast, as the oversized great white began to leap out of the water, attempting to get a toothy grip on Annie's little body. David followed the screams, and came to the door, which -oddly enough- was not locked. He entered the large water-creature breeding area, and saw Annie. "Annie!" "David?" Annie asked as she turned her head and saw her brother on the catwalk. "David! There's a shark!" David looked into the water, and saw the beast, swimming around, and obviously very hungry.  
  
Chris tried to reason with Wesker, hoping to get his sister released. "Wesker, I'm the one you want!" He pleaded, "let her go, and I'll take her place. Please Captain, if there's any humanity left in you, please let Claire go." "Hmm, my archenemy, or his little sister. Very interesting. But, I'd much rather have both!" Suddenly there was a new voice added to the conversation. "How about neither!"   
BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! Leon's magnum fired off three powerful rounds, which hit and shattered the glass tube, spilling the water and the virus everywhere. When she realized what happened, Claire took in a huge gulp of air. "NO!! All the testing, and experimentation, wasted! Do you fools even comprehend what you have done?" "Yeah," said Billy, "We ended the experiments, and now, we're going to end you!" He fired a blast from his shotgun, sending Wesker back into the wall, but it only stunned him briefly. As he stood back up, he smirked, and in the blink of an eye, he was next to Billy, and he picked him up, and threw him into Chris. As Leon rushed to release Claire, Wesker darted out of the room, and disappeared. "SHIT!" hollered Chris, "we need to find him, and stop him!"  
  
As David tried to decide how to save his sister, the tiger-hunter showed up. It had been badly burned, but somehow, it survived, and was about to strike. Annie looked over her shoulder, and screamed. At that moment, Barry showed up and began to fire his Colt Python, sending the creature through the railing and into the pool, where the shark was waiting. While the shark was distracted by it's new victim, David coaxed his little sister into dropping into the water. He reached out and helped her onto the catwalk, where she hugged him, and buried her face in his chest as the water of the shark-tank turned red with the tiger-hunter's blood.  
  
Rebecca and Hunk had cleared the halls of several HCF mercenaries, and with Sherry in tow, they found the virology room. They found the anti-virus and after looking around some more, they found several other samples of viruses and anti-viruses alike. As Rebecca stored them in her vest pockets, Wesker showed up, and he looked very angry. "Well, well, well. Fancy meeting you here, Miss Chambers." Rebecca wasn't sure what to do, but she couldn't let Wesker find out that she had evidence to put both Umbrella, and the HCF, out of business for good.   
-------------------------------------------------  
  
Well, this is it. The end is near. One chapter to go. After the final chapter, I will add brief character profiles for my next story. I will be posting them in their own story thread titled: "RE: The New Blood Files" This will not be a story, but a character overview, with a little insight into my upcoming sequel. It won't be necessary to R&R, but feel free to give me some ideas for creatures and weapons and such. I will give credit to those whose ideas I use. It's not absolutely necessary to read it. It is for those who might want to know a little bit about the characters before getting into the story. I hope you've enjoyed Death Island, and after the epilogue, I will list and thank all those who've given me great reviews, and in some cases, good ideas. 


	31. Rendezvous With Fate

Chapter 30: Rendezvous With Fate  
  
"Wesker, you have to listen to reason," Hunk was attempting to get through to the viral-enhanced madman, "The virus given to you by the HCF is slowly killing you from the inside out!" "Suppose I truly believed you, do you think that would stop me from killing all of you?" Rebecca tried next, "Captain Wesker, please, let us help you. We know there's a cure somewhere in this room." "That's impossible, this is an Umbrella facility, and the serum given to me was created by the HCF." Rebecca continued, trying to stall her former superior, "Apparently someone lied to you. Either the HCF stole the formula from Umbrella, or vice-versa. I'm begging you, let us help you!" "Enough stalling," said Wesker, "You're time is up!" "Not if I can help it!" Chris entered the room and began to fire at Wesker with his Glock-17. "You're a fool, Redfield! Those bullets are useless!" Wesker boasted. "But these aren't!" It was Leon, and he fired a shot from his Desert Eagle. The impact sent Wesker back into a shelf full of unknown chemicals. "Hunk, now!" shouted Rebecca, and the former Umbrella agent rushed over and injected the anti-virus into Wesker's arm. They didn't know when the cure would take effect, but it was apparently not immediate. Wesker grabbed Hunk by his throat, and crushed his windpipe, and then he threw Hunk into Leon, and ran out of the room, still bleeding from the magnum-inflicted wound in his chest. Rebecca rushed over to Hunk, and tried to help, but there was nothing she could do. Hunk died in her arms as she tried desperately to revive him. Sherry had been watching the carnage from inside a closet, and she ran to Claire, who was attending to Leon. She hugged Claire and began to cry.  
  
Meanwhile, Barry, along with David and Annie had followed the sound of gunfire, and were near the virology room, where they saw Wesker run out. "You two, go with the others, I've got unfinished business to attend to." And with that, Barry gave chase, hoping to get a piece of his former boss. David and Annie joined the others in the room. Sherry saw them come in, and ran over to greet her new friends. "What happened?" asked David, upon seeing the mess. "Wesker." replied Chris, "He killed Hunk, and took off. He's been injected with an anti-virus designed to reverse the effects of whatever he was exposed to before the Arklay incidents." Rebecca noticed the missing member of the group, "David, where's Barry?" "We saw Mr. Personality run out of here, and he ran after him." "We don't know if the cure is taking effect yet, we better go find them." Said Chris. He turned to Rebecca, "Becky, you stay here with Claire, and try to find her clothes, the rest of us will go after Barry and Wesker." Rebecca and Claire both nodded in agreement, and they watched as Leon, Billy, Chris, and Jill left the room.  
  
Meanwhile, Wesker triggered Umbrella's biggest self-destruct system yet. Since it was owned by the Ashfords, the entire island was rigged to blow up with the facility. The only way to escape was in a state-of-the-art military troop transport plane, located in a hangar that was built into the lower levels of the facility. Barry didn't have too much trouble tracking Wesker down, thanks to the trail of blood he'd left behind. Wesker was about to board the plane, when Barry stopped him in his tracks. "Wesker!!" He shouted. Wesker looked at him and responded, "It's too late Burton, you can't stop me now. Once this island is destroyed, you and your precious friends will be blown sky high, and the pieces of your bodies will be strewn all over the South Pacific! Umbrella will be blamed, the S.T.A.R.S destroyed, and the HCF will continue to grow, as my efforts are rewarded, and I become the head of the company." Wesker charged Barry, and landed a huge right uppercut, that sent the larger man flying back several feet. "It looks like the anti-virus has failed." boasted Wesker, as he walked over to Barry, who was still a little dazed. Just then, Barry responded with a powerful kick to Wesker's chin, drawing blood. "WHAT! It can't be! I'm beginning to return to normal!" Barry took advantage and nailed Wesker in the stomach with a hard right. "That's for threatening my family!" And Barry continued the onslaught, saying in succession, "That's for being an insufferable sonuvabitch! That's for Carlos and Ada! This is for David, Annie, and Sherry!" Wesker was knocked back near a pile of metal pipes. As Barry moved toward him, he grabbed one and caught the big man by surprise. "Now, for me!" Said Barry, as he advanced on the seemingly helpless Wesker. "You forgot about Hunk!" said Wesker, as he nailed Barry in the stomach with the steel pipe he'd found. "Now, Burton, you're time has come!" But before he could deal a fatal blow, he was knocked back by the impact of 9mm parabellum rounds. "It's Over WESKER!" Shouted Chris, as he continued to advance toward the wounded man. "Jill, check on Barry, while I have a little discussion with our old boss here." "You really are pathetic Wesker. You sold your soul for power, and what did it get you? A one way ticket to Hell." He fired another shot, and the shot to the middle of Wesker's chest left him lying there, lifeless. Rebecca, Claire and the kids showed up, and it was at that moment, they heard the sound of the alarm:  
  
"Five minutes until detonation. This island facility will self-destruct in five minutes!"   
  
"You heard the lady, everyone on board now!" Just then, two shots rung out, striking Chris in the back of his left leg, and the other in his right shoulder, making him drop his weapon. "You were right about one thing Redfield, it is over! We will all perish together. And I will see you in Hell!" "Hey Wesker," it was Jill, "Here's a little something to help you get used to your new home!" She hit him with a napalm grenade, and as he cried out in agony from the flames, Leon aimed his Desert Eagle, "Game Over, Wesker. You Lose!" BLAM! The fifty caliber magnum round hit it's target, and Wesker's head exploded in a fiery blaze. Barry and Billy helped Chris into the transport plane, followed by the rest of the group. As the facility began to explode from the inside, they took off. And as if it had been scripted, they escaped to minimum safe distance as the entire island disintegrated in a giant mushroom cloud. As they flew home, the survivors sat in silence, reflecting on the events of the past three days. They remembered the bravery, and self-sacrifice of Carlos, Ada, and Hunk, and were grateful that this chapter in their lives had come to an end, but they knew that the story was far from over. 


	32. Epilogue

Epilogue  
  
Six months after the Ashford Island incident, Chris, Barry, Billy, Rebecca, Jill, Leon, and Claire succeeded in bringing down Umbrella Corporation and their rivals, the HCF. The death of Albert Wesker, and the subsequent destruction of Ashford Island had proven to be far more devastating to the two warring companies than anyone expected. As a reward for their efforts, and key roles in the case (not to mention saving the world), the U.S. Government donated funding for the opening of a new academy for the training and operation of a brand new S.T.A.R.S unit, which would operate on an international basis.  
FIVE YEARS LATER...  
18-year-old Sherry Birkin entered the fabled halls of Harvard University. She had graduated from high school a year early, and having taken a year off from school, she was looking forward to beginning her college years, studying virology. She wanted to use her education to help the world, unlike her parents, who had been killed as a result of their research on bio-genetic viruses. Years before, her good friends Leon Kennedy and Claire Redfield married and started a family. They were given legal custody of her, as her legal guardians. Her friends from the Ashford Island incident, David and Annie Barrett went to Nebraska to live with their aunt and uncle. She kept in touch with them for a while, but soon the letters stopped. However, on this particularly warm September morning, she was in for a surprise. As she entered her Science class, she ran into a familiar face. "David Barrett, is that you?" David turned toward her, and after a brief moment, he recognized the much more grown-up girl he had met four years earlier. "Sherry Birkin, as I live and breathe." David was entering his junior year in college, studying law. He was taking a Science course as a way to earn the credits he needed toward his degree. After their classes, David and Sherry spoke much about the past five years. He told her that Annie was beginning her senior year of high school. He told Sherry how proud he was of his little sister for finally overcoming her lifelong fear of water, and that she had gone on to become the captain of her high school girls' swim team. Sherry told David about Leon's and Claire's wedding, and that they now had two children of their own. She also mentioned that Chris and Jill, as well as Billy and Rebecca had also married and had children. Barry's two daughters had grown up, and were engaged to be married as well. Within the next two years, David and Sherry would be married, and starting their own family as well.   
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Well, there you have it! Death Island is now complete! I would like to thank the following for their support, and often glowing reviews:  
  
Omnidolor  
Mandy J  
Pinquicha  
Santiago (3 reviews)  
MiZu KaZe (2 reviews)  
  
And I'd like to give special thanks to:   
  
Dragon (6 reviews, and thanks for your idea to get Rebecca and Billy together)  
Ragnarok (Thanks for your suggestion concerning the separating of dialogue for an easier -and less confusing- read. I will try to utilize it in my next story.)  
  
Once again, thanks to all who have read my story, even those who did not leave reviews. If anyone would like to reference "Death Island" for their own stories, feel free to do so, but please give proper credit. 


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